The Official TFN Archive Thread: Jan update!

To be honest, on beta readers I've found that simply finding my own from the boards works MUCH better! I'll never forget the beta I found on the list who told me that I needed to EXPLAIN who Darth Vader was...and how he was related to Leia.

I'd recommend finding a few people (I have about four people I call on) to beta read and keeping them. The list never worked for me. Of course, that may be an isolated thing pertinent only to me.

 

Well everyone should know that the Beta-list at the Archives is just a list service and it's not actually something we have control over other than maintaing the list. Basically, anyone can sign up to be a beta-reader so we can't vouch for the quality. It's really there for those who can't find someone to help them. If you or anyone you know is a good beta and would like to offer your services, do sign up and add your name to the list. It's also important to remember that you don't need to use anyone on that list as your beta-readers. You are free to obtain your own two beta's for the submission. Also if you are on the list and no longer wish to beta and receive the e-mails, please let us know so we can remove the name.

 

I also have a few people that I use as betas. I've never used the beta list myself. Sometimes I'll have several of my friends do it in order to get a variety of opinions as to what to change - especially if I'm unsure myself.

 

To offer an actual timeframe, I wouldn't actually wait. It doesn't hurt to drop a line to the list, but if you have someone else to ask, I don't think it would be rude to go ahead and do so.

I do tend to think of the mailing list and the Beta-Reader Index here as useful resources, but something of a last resort. If I can, I'll always start by asking someone I already know, whose advice I trust and who I have reason to believe is interested. I do know this isn't always feasible for everyone, especially newcomers to a fandom; I only ask a fairly limited number of people myself, and I think I met one of them through Star Wars. It's certainly possible to do a good job beta-reading a story that isn't really your cup of tea, but it is substantially easier to help someone with a story that is your cup of tea than to help someone who is trying to make hot chocolate instead.

Well, I'd prefer the hot chocolate. So it's not a great metaphor. But anyway, feel free to ask the mailing list, but don't fret about waiting for it to get back to you if you've got someone else to talk to.

 

As a minor addendum, there have been several snafus lately with the beta mailing list.


I thought I had it working fine after the "upgrade" but it seems to be all kerflooey lately. I'm going to try again to get a techie to help out, but barring that I'll probably just need to clear out the queue and kick-start the darn thing again.


If that ends up being the solution, I'll send along an e-mail through the list to let everyone know.


EDIT: For whatever reason, the mail account for the beta list seems to be working fine again and I was able to send requests through last night.

 

So a couple years ago I submitted an article on how to properly format dialogue. It was pretty well received, and Gabri once told me you wouldn't mind a few more articles on proper grammar as well. I've been toying with the idea, but most common errors don't require as much in-depth explanation and correction as dialogue formatting does. I was wondering, first if you would still like more articles on grammar, and second, if I should do a series of much shorter articles with one topic each, or one longer article containing multiple topics.

 

Write articles on grammar. Write many, detailed articles on grammar. Write them now.

 

What Atty said, Rynne. That dialogue formatting article is invaluable, and we could definitely use something addressing grammar. As far as the one long article vs. several shorter ones, I'm honestly not sure. Maybe try the series way first, and if they turn out to be too short, combine them? Either way, though, such articles would make us very happy.

 

Aaaaah, but how are you going to get the writers to USE the articles on grammar?

 

Fervent prayer.

 

Throw erasers at them, of course.

(But not chalk. Chalk is dangerous.)

 

LOL! We use that a lot around the Archive, for various reasons.

*guiltily puts away chalk*

 

Update, September 30, 2007:

Once again, we're pleased to present two new additions to the TFN Fanfic Archive.

Sneaking in just under the wire for September we have Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by LLL and The Clothes Make the Hermit by ardavenport.

In a bit of site news, the recent problems with the beta reader mailing list seem to have been corrected. If you've sent in a request that was not delivered, we apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to re-send the e-mails that may have been lost.

 

I know this isn't supposed to be the place to make requests/complaints but I've not got any response from the usual channels.

The cover art for one of my archived stories, Children of Shmi, was not properly credited. It was done by a friend of mine called fialleril, but the credit went to me. Before the story went up, I was told to ask her to open an account there and she did. Despite this, the story came up with no mention of fialleril's name.

I first sent an email to the editors, and then later Private Message to Herman about correcting this. It's been 5 months since the story was updated and I checked now, and the cover artist is still me.

Is there anything that can be done at all or is the artist credit a field that cannot be altered after the story has been updated on the archives?

 

Thanks for letting me know. I have to go to work soon so if it's not fixed before I leave, I'll check into to it after work. Sounds like there could be a problem with either the e-mail or the contributor account or it just fell through a crack into Mt Doom. Sorry about that.

Mariah

 

Thanks MJ. Regardless of my problem, I think the editors at the Archives are doing a super job.

 

Okey doke, The credit is all fixed on that story art. And on behalf of all of us, thanks.

 

Important announcement: The email contact system seems to be on the frizz. Please use alternative means to contact the reviewers.

 

*sigh*

Tech support ... tech support ...

 

Completely unofficial "poll"/discussion topic:

What has gotten into the Archive's email lists?
-Sea urchins
-Bugs
-Cicadas
-Moths
-Gnomes
-Trolls
-Spam
-They have probably been eaten by a grue.
-The Dark Side.
-Killed by a Bane-Sith for violating the Rule of Two.
-Became one with the Force
-Became two with the Force
-A message-hoarding dragon. We are soliciting volunteers to slay it and retrieve the hoard.

 

Yikes, a thousand apologies for failing to follow through with that.

 

We are still having e-mail issues, so I'd suggest using the pm system on the boards in addition to the mail as a back up just in case.

 

There are articles about grammar....?

I'd use them....I can use all the help I can get.




FL

 

*waves*

Hi, Flowerlady!

There are a bunch of articles at the archives on a number of writing topics. The article list runs for two pages and starts here.

 

Announcement:

We've just discovered that our e-mail issues are worse than we'd thought. At least one author did not receive the final decision letter we sent. At the moment, we don't know when outgoing e-mail started misfiring, or how many authors may have been affected. If anyone has submitted a fic and has not heard from us, I strongly recommend PMing either myself, Herman Snerd, or MariahJade2. We'll check our records and let you know the status of your fic.

We apologize most sincerely for any inconvenience, and will do our best to resolve this as quickly as possible.