How Much Do You Want From Your Beta?

This should be something worked out between the writer and the Beta because everyone will need something different. But generically, I imagine people would want to know the following:

Does the story flow well?
Does it make sense?
Any major gaps?
Grammar faux pas?
Does it keep your attention? Do you care?
etc

That is the sort of things I would ask of a Beta anyway. Being the writer, things that seem obvious to me may not be obvious to the reader, etc.

HTH

Ask what the writer wants. I don't ask betas for line crits or grammer checks; I merely want to know how they, as a reader, like the story. I usually ask for two things:

1.) What did you like best about the story?
2.) If you stopped reading before reaching the end, what made you stop?

Anything else besides the basics (grammer/etc.), in my opinion, is up to interpertation of style and voice if the beta is a writer.

Whatever they will give, for the most part. Though usually I will have specific questions, too. Does such-and-such scene work, does this character come across as believable, how is the pacing, etc.

I don't expect a line-by-line for grammar and spelling, because I feel it's my responsibility to give them a polished piece to work with, but when they catch typos, I'm not ungrateful. And usually they can just point out a technical writing issue once and I can apply their advice to the rest of the manuscript (my latest beta has pointed out that I am heavy on gerunds in my WIP, so I am weeding those out as I reedit). Also, sloppy grammar and spelling distracts from the bigger questions I want answered.

So yeah, different critiquers focus on different issues and have different critiquing strengths, and I'm happy with what each of them offers.

I'm reading someone's work now, and I divide up my critiques into: character, plot, point of view, setting, theme, dialogue and description. Then I write up a section for each one. I try to be as specific as possible, hopefully without interfering with what the author's trying to do.

If I want to know something specific about my work from a beta then I will ask. This is often the case.

If I don't give any specifics, then the basics I would want to know are:

What do you think of each character?
Does the story flow? Does it make sense? Is it satisfying?
Is it realistic/believable?
What are your favourite parts? Least favourite parts?
Did any bits drag or lose your interest? Were there any cheesy bits? Any bits that made you uncomfortable?
How was the pacing?
What will it leave you with? What will you remember?
And a little proofreading is useful too - not a full line-by-line crit but it's good IMO to point out any grammar errors, repetition, clunky sentences etc.

The basics I try to offer when beta reading for someone is what specifically pulled me into the story. I try to narrow that down as much as possible. Then I try to point out anything that offers any confusion, particularly the mention of too many characters without me getting an idea of their specific roles in the whole. That is just a quirk of mine because I also read Hubby's first drafts which only have the names of the major players. The others have names like [secretary] or [best female friend], so with his first drafts, I get the feel for their characters before I actually know their names. I'm used to reading through just about anything, grammar mistakes, typos, and whatever else, just to get the main story line. And because I'm so brutally honest with Hubby's WIP, that runs over when I do betas. I treat them all the same, highlight and track changes and offer suggestions as I go.
Then, whatever complications I have in my own WIP is the other major thing I try to point out. Example, for this last read I did, I was struggling with POV's in my own, so I tried to point that out as much as possible, if any, and offer suggestions as to how to clear it up without re-writing the scene.

Your style would suit me fine, Madison. I also treat the work as if it were my own. If I don't point out what bugs me or what I think is wrong, I get a guilty conscience and feel I've failed the author.

Unless I specifically ask for general comments, I want the works. Line edit me, point out my weaknesses and my strengths, and don't let anything slide by. Anything a Beta catches is one less thing for an agent to gripe about.

If a Beta doesn't want detailed feedback, why bother asking for a Beta? Few of us write perfect prose, so let's not be arrogant about it.