MetaFic

Full disclosure: I'm not an admin, archivist, or anything else for SIYE. I lend a hand from time to time in critical need because of skills, and I have friends that _are_ in those roles, but I am not and never have been. I've also had my share of problems with SIYE, but it's been for content rather than mechanics.

In your case, I can't tell you as I don't know anything about the story or what's been going on. But I do know that they started cracking down a while ago (1-2 years) on the SPaG rules, particularly after some prolific yet horrific authors ("Ambush Harry Conspiracy" for example) never cleaned up their act. I believe the current informal rule is that if an archivist finds 3 errors on the screen, it's an automatic reject. That's error as in typo, incorrect spelling, all the SPaG rules, or the JKR name spelling rule set. I don't believe that "muggle" vs "Muggle" is considered an error, but I don't honestly know.

One thing found through experience is that asking friends to beta and/or proof is usually a bad idea. They're never going to be as critical as they should be. You need people who you have a weak (if any) relationship with, that have the skills and credentials to do the job, and that you can then build a relationship with first-and-foremost from the beta role. That way if you get along well, there's still that expectation for extreme nit-picking.

I suck as a nit-picking beta, which is why I tend to be an "alpha" -- plot and characterization tasking, looking for holes and so on. I use several nit-picking folks for the beta stuff, as do the other authors I work with. In every case, each author has had a string of people in and out of beta roles before they find someone properly critical and skilled. It takes time to find the right sort.

I haven't read your fic, but I did glance at the first few paragraphs in Chapter 1 posted at FFnet. Some of the common errors are verb tense, plurality matching, missing words ("We got to get"), the wrong word (relived != relieved), and so on. You could probably untangle many sentences to make them easier to read, as you're using somewhat complex structures or else tend to run long. Looks like you need a better beta team...

I apologize if this is offensive in any way. It's not meant to be, it's simply my initial thinking after a quick glance at a fraction of a chapter.

I've never had a problem with this, and I've made a lot of submissions, and yes Squib is a capital because it's a JKR made up word like Muggle. Both should be capitalised. I have beta'ed for pseudonym for ... oh um 18 chapters now? ... and never has he reported a problem. If you would like me to take a look at it and see if I can see where things are going pear shaped, drop me a line at kerenlinda@hotmail.com

I can't say I understand the frustration as the one time I had an issue it wasn't rejected but I got a lesson in dialogue punctuation which had me headdesking cos I *knew* it but had just had a mind blank and formatted it wrong in the first chapter of Rebuilding Life. But I will look at it for you if you like.

No offense taken.

I do have a nit picky beta but she is currently unavailable and I've been told by some who knows her that she is busy with real life until at least the New Years. Apparently this happens every year with her. I just wish she would have warned me because I haven't heard from her for a quite a while and I was getting worried sick something bad happened to her...

Anyways I only ask friends to beta for me as a last resort. I simply take who ever is interested in it that gives me a good first impression. I do agree with you that I need a better team of betas (and not just for "Preserving the Future") which is why I'm always looking for new ones.

Sorry for the double post but I didn't see your message. I went to go reply to moshpit's post but my stupid, idiotic webserver named Peeves (believe me, it has earned its name) distracted me with its latest problem. Anyways, I'm going to send you a copy of the first chapter (I've written six so far with a seventh almost done, four of which have been posted on FanFiction.net). The subject of the email is "Preserving the Future".

Congrats - I see it's up. :)

And I wasn't even told by who ever validated it... :( Anyways, thanks for looking over chapter one. I just emailed chapter 2 to you.

No, you don't get told :) . If you want to know who it was, go to your Account Info and click on Action Log, it will say who did it there. If they edit it before they put it up you should get an email saying that your story ahs been edited. Most don't mention why but if you want to know you can PM or email them. I usually get a response if I ask why :)