I'd be willing to beta read for people but I never volunteer because I usually never know what I'm getting myself into.
So, some advice...
Writers, if you want a beta reader, and you decide to post a message on these boards asking for one, it would be great if you included the following information:
*Genre of the story or brief description of it (really, if you want to catch my interest so that I'll want to beta it, say something ABOUT your story!)
*Current length of the story (just to give the potential beta a rough estimate of how much time they'll be investing. I know, it varies, but I might be more prone to taking a job if I'm sure it won't be a 150k-word novel or something. Although those can be fun, I do have to make time for my own writing SOMETIME.)
*State explicitly what you'd like your beta(s) to do -- up front.
*If you want it beta'ed in a hurry (like "within a week") then say so! If you're more flexible, say so. Just be honest & clear. Personally, I'd be much more prone to beta'ing for you if you said that it could be done within a month or two... cuz yeah I'm slow. But that's just me.
(*watches as all the writers run away*)
*And finally, state what kind of criticism you'll accept. I mean I know it sounds silly, but I know someone who asked for a beta reader, and then sent them her story. The beta reader told this writer that she didn't like certain parts of it, and gave her all this advice. The writer was in tears, because she hadn't wanted criticism, she'd just wanted compliments and some spellchecking. Well sorry, guys, but it doesn't work that way. So it would be really helpful if you state upfront something like "Constructive criticism strongly desired!" because I'd much rather beta for someone who I can be honest with than someone I have to tiptoe around. But if you just need a spellchecker, then say so, and I'll just stick to doing that one task and not comment on your plot at all.
I have run across a few beta requests that are just, like: "I need a beta for a story I'm working on, I need help with the plot. Thanks."
That doesn't tell me much of anything and definitely doesn't get me intrigued enough to want to read your story or help you out.
