O_o

[feuervogel]

Note to future self:

Never send someone who doesn't read outside a very narrow section of SF (hard SF, mostly) your space opera novel to beta read. The resulting commentary full of insults that you don't know how to write and that stories that don't focus on the technology aren't "really SF" is not only not helpful but rage-making, and you will have to figure out the most polite way to say, "You have no idea what you're talking about" without coming across as That Writer saying "You just doooon't understaaaaaaand my viiiiiision."

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Comments

[picklish]

Ugh. SF doesn't have to be technology/science/robot porn in order to be SF.

[anthimeria]

ARGH. I don't -- even -- ARGH.

Genre snobs make me crazy. The rest of the "mainstream" world already thinks we're not worth the paper we're printed on, we don't need our own being judgemental.

Also, just in general, being insulting is no way to beta/edit. Not even if what you're editing is crap (which yours is not). It's just not helpful, and reflects ill not on the work/writer but on the editor.

ANYWAY. I hope you're getting some useful comments out of your other beta-readers!

[krait]

Erm, speaking of novels! I promise to send you the commentary tomorrow evening! (A family thing came up regarding my elderly aunt, so my schedule has been disarranged for much of this week, alas.)

[luckykitty.livejournal.com]

The only thing you can say to that kind of thing is "Thank you for your time and effort."

And then walk away. Later when you're cooler headed, you can come back and see if there's anything worth taking from the critique -- there can be *something* buried under all the misunderstanding, but not always -- and then chuck the rest into the trash.

I've made that mistake before, had someone beta read something that was so. Not. Their thing. And on one hand it's interesting (from a purely objective point of view) to know what a non-ideal-reader would think, but from another it's just an exercise in frustration for both of you.

(I've also BEEN that beta reader before, and ended up writing to the author: hey, I am so not the right reader for you. Since I read the whole thing, I *have* made notes, and here they are, but I really don't think I am your ideal audience, so I have tried to keep the notes to the purely storytelling-technique side. And then fully expected them to throw it in the trash)

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Ugh! I agree with the whole 'thank them an walk away' comment.

Sadly, I cannot help because (1) I am not a very good fiction editor and (2) I am rather dead and trying to find what is wrong with me.

[amakarie.livejournal.com]

I had a couple disjointed thoughts on this...

1)I've been a beta, proofreader, and the point of being one is to objectively look at content and see what is being expressed and communicated. Whether's it's grammar or content proofing, you're supposed to read through, analyze what the writer's saying, then bring up any issues that you find. "I don't like" is not construtive criticism, and does nothing to help the writer. You have to TELL the writer why or ask questions to give the person clarity if there are issues.

2) That being said, there are people who are not going to like your writing, and especially if you try to get published, you're going to face a lot of rejection. Every published writer got turned down, spit on and the like hundreds of times before they were finally published. Although it's not helpful to you if this person says "this sucks," you have to move on. Look at whatever you can, analyze if any arguments are valid (which I doubt, see above comment), and keep progressing. Anybody can write, but allowing others to read your work is a whole other ball of wax, and you may get some ego-bruising from it in the end.

3) It is perfectly fine if your work is in a niche genre. I personally don't like fantasy novels, but that doesn't mean all fantasy novels suck. Despite that I can still read various types of work and analyze it. You've said that there is an audience for this type of work. I would embrace that and stop yourself from trying to be x, y, or z. If you're working with a distinctive genre, let it be what it is. I mean, Margaret Atwood isn't classic SF, but that doesn't discredit her as a good writer.

[a-nightengale.livejournal.com]

Yeah, like I said elsewhere, it's clearly not your writing; it's the beta reader in question.