Coolness in Ideal Beta Readers

Higgins · Jul 16, 2008

Nakhlasmoke said:
Who cares or decides about coolness factor?

DeleyanLee said:
Nope. You missed the most important--part of the last qualfication: Do you trust them? If I can't trust them, doesn't matter what all the other qualifications are, they don't see my stuff.

Well...bear with me on this. I had not thought about it until last week, but maybe coolness is worth considering when you think about what
kind of reading you are getting from a beta reader. You might trust them and everything, but there's possibly some hidden cultural dynamic in the
notion of coolness. For example, one rarely-noted aspect of coolness is an openness to things that are a little bit outside the mainstream. Perhaps an extremely cool mainstream person is in fact the ideal beta reader for certain types of non-mainstream genres.

I'm not sure how authentically Aztec that Avatar-skull is. Apparently it is spouting burning (oceanic/supercosmic/subterreanean shell-filled) water and has the sign for the god Smoking Mirror on top.

Nakhlasmoke · Jul 16, 2008

Higgins said:
Well...bear with me on this. I had not thought about it until last week, but maybe coolness is worth considering when you think about what
kind of reading you are getting from a beta reader. You might trust them and everything, but there's possibly some hidden cultural dynamic in the
notion of coolness. For example, one rarely-noted aspect of coolness is an openness to things that are a little bit outside the mainstream. Perhaps an extremely cool mainstream person is in fact the ideal beta reader for certain types of non-mainstream genres.

Right.

I think I'm just going to accept that we have different ideas of what makes a good beta reader and leave it at that.

As long as it works for you.

DeleyanLee · Jul 16, 2008

Nakhlasmoke said:
Right.

I think I'm just going to accept that we have different ideas of what makes a good beta reader and leave it at that.

As long as it works for you.

Agreed. Every writer has to decide what's important to them in their commentary, etc. What works for one writer isn't necessarily going to work for anyone else.

I believe that's the way it should be.

Matera the Mad · Jul 16, 2008

Well...I have both XP and Linux in mah lil box, and my best beta is not a member of AW. And some peeps think I'm a good beta, and some never want to talk to me again. Some just want me to fix their computers or something.

Nakhlasmoke · Jul 16, 2008

Matera the Mad said:
Well...I have both XP and Linux in mah lil box, and my best beta is not a member of AW. ...

Oh hey snap.

Coolness in Ideal Beta Readers

Higgins

Nakhlasmoke

yes

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

Nakhlasmoke

yes