How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Seriously. I have had some great betas. And… some not so great. So I would in this post like to rhapsodize about the joys of having a good beta.

You found me! After dozens and dozens (oh yes maybe thirty) of messages sent to people active on the beta board, giving them a rundown of fandom, story type ect… And having the two that replied bail without even looking over one chapter… You contacted me. All of the betas I ended up using volunteered after I posted a plea for help on my story.

You leave me WTF notes so I know that the picture I see in my mind did not yet translate to the page. Thank you.

You are reliable. and you give me an advanced heads up to let me know when you are going to be out of pocket due to exams, holidays, vacations, real life. Bless you.

You gently nudge me to get the next f***ing chapter finished when I am slacking. Telling me to send you what I have, so you can make suggestion on what the readers might like to see in that chapter. You rock.

You propose additions! Tiny little twists, or snipps of dialog that would never have thought of that make what was only an ‘Okay’ chapter freaking shine! You are wonderful!

You don’t get mad at me when I don’t make the changes you suggest because that isn’t how I see the story, or it wouldn’t read quite the way I want it to if I change it. Thank you so much for your understanding.

You have become a friend that encourages me to do better without berating me when I fail. I very much appreciate having you in my life.