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@the-golden-light

excellent points!

Regarding your question about minute details, I think if the writer specifically asks you to point it all out, then go ahead and point out every little detail, but only if you’re sure to counter it with lots of good things and praise. Even writers who want all the bad payed out can feel discouraged if the open a document to five thousand negative comments and a hundred positive ones.

However if they say they’re only looking for a general idea of if the story works, then I’d hold back. For instance if you notice there’s a ton of telling instead of showing, you might mention there’s some yelling throughout, but don’t point out every instance of telling. Limit most of your comments to the actual workings of the plot (or whatever they actually asked for feedback on). When I send my stuff to beta readers I tell them I’m looking for character uniqueness and plot consistency, and to not worry about typos or grammar too much. I get a few comments on the mechanics which is fine, but they stick to my main focus really well.

Ive got a story out to beta readers right now, and it’s been fun hearing all the feedback.

As far as managing your time for beta reading, I struggle with that too. For the most part I would say know your limitations. In my case I want to give myself plenty of time. So while a great book will have me blowing through it in a week or less, a book I’m not excited about might take a month. So I figure I can read one novel a month for people,  which allows me to have time for life, and perhaps a slow read. When people ask me to beta if it’s something I’m interested in I’ll tell them yes, but only at a certain date (however far out I’m backed up) and if that works for them they send it to me and I start it then. I’ve also found it helps me to load the docs onto my kindle and then have it with me so I can read a page or two whenever I have time without having to sit at my computer.