Sorry it took me so long to get back to this. I just had a few thoughts:
It's hard to find a beta-reader, much less a good one, and even less a good one that's a good fit. In my corner of the universe (however small it may be) it seems that most people seem to find their betas on their flist. This usually means the authors and betas have something already in common (favorite pairings or characters, or perhaps they already enjoy one anothers' fic) so I've never really encountered this problem. The only thing that I do notice is that some betas have different concerns, i.e. one is more concerned with grammar/spelling while another is worried about characterization, and so on and so forth.
Writers and beta-readers have different expectations about what beta-reading is and how it's done. My worry about this is (mostly) technical. Whenever I have someone new beta my work, I have to include a caveat on their process, because I don't have Microsoft Word and certain features don't carry over, like comment tracking. Likewise I've beta'ed for writers who've specified how they like comments on their work - in red, in bold, in-text or footnoted, etc.
Writers and betas don't see eye-to-eye on a particular issue (like a character) or prefer different genres to the point that they don't work well together. I don't understand how and why these betas and authors get hooked up in the first place, then. I have one or two betas that I know I can send anything to, and then a few others who I know to be more specific, and only the twain shall meet if I'm hard-pressed for a deadline or something and can strong-arm a friend into line-checking.
As far as my own experience goes in both being a writer and a beta, I've never come up against anyone or anything that I thought was a problem; again, since I rely on friends, we've always been more than civil to one another, and even harsh criticism is buffered by a general understanding and light-heartedness that comes with friendship. As a writer, I appreciate any and all criticism from a beta, and whether I end up incorporating their suggestions or corrections, I always follow-up with them concerning my reasoning. As a beta, I think I'm a little harsher in terms of grammar and spelling (even stylistically - I'm a huge fan of dashes as opposed to commas for dramatic emphasis) but I like to think that it's balanced out by my personable manner.
I'm assuming from your post that you have considerable writing center experience (either working in one or frequenting one, but my guess is the former). I worked in a university writing center for five years and I think it's carried over into fandom. My approach is generally the same, whether working with fiction or academic papers. There are some little things I do, like reading out loud to catch errors easier or to identify awkward wording, and then there are larger issues that I've learned to address. For example, a fic I beta'ed recently was written for heroes_exchange and while I was the second beta who just needed to "double-check," I was less concerned with line-checking and more concerned with whether the fic incorporated the prompt given. Since it was an exchange fic, it was both on a deadline and a gift for someone, so which was more important - getting it checked and submitted on time, or making sure it was what the other person really wanted? If heroes_exchange was a class and the recipient was the professor, it would probably be more important that the submission matches the assignment, so I tend to use that as a benchmark regarding priorities in beta-reading.
My two cents. Spend them wisely.
It's hard to find a beta-reader, much less a good one, and even less a good one that's a good fit.
In my corner of the universe (however small it may be) it seems that most people seem to find their betas on their flist. This usually means the authors and betas have something already in common (favorite pairings or characters, or perhaps they already enjoy one anothers' fic) so I've never really encountered this problem. The only thing that I do notice is that some betas have different concerns, i.e. one is more concerned with grammar/spelling while another is worried about characterization, and so on and so forth.
Writers and beta-readers have different expectations about what beta-reading is and how it's done.
My worry about this is (mostly) technical. Whenever I have someone new beta my work, I have to include a caveat on their process, because I don't have Microsoft Word and certain features don't carry over, like comment tracking. Likewise I've beta'ed for writers who've specified how they like comments on their work - in red, in bold, in-text or footnoted, etc.
Writers and betas don't see eye-to-eye on a particular issue (like a character) or prefer different genres to the point that they don't work well together.
I don't understand how and why these betas and authors get hooked up in the first place, then. I have one or two betas that I know I can send anything to, and then a few others who I know to be more specific, and only the twain shall meet if I'm hard-pressed for a deadline or something and can strong-arm a friend into line-checking.
As far as my own experience goes in both being a writer and a beta, I've never come up against anyone or anything that I thought was a problem; again, since I rely on friends, we've always been more than civil to one another, and even harsh criticism is buffered by a general understanding and light-heartedness that comes with friendship. As a writer, I appreciate any and all criticism from a beta, and whether I end up incorporating their suggestions or corrections, I always follow-up with them concerning my reasoning. As a beta, I think I'm a little harsher in terms of grammar and spelling (even stylistically - I'm a huge fan of dashes as opposed to commas for dramatic emphasis) but I like to think that it's balanced out by my personable manner.
I'm assuming from your post that you have considerable writing center experience (either working in one or frequenting one, but my guess is the former). I worked in a university writing center for five years and I think it's carried over into fandom. My approach is generally the same, whether working with fiction or academic papers. There are some little things I do, like reading out loud to catch errors easier or to identify awkward wording, and then there are larger issues that I've learned to address. For example, a fic I beta'ed recently was written for heroes_exchange and while I was the second beta who just needed to "double-check," I was less concerned with line-checking and more concerned with whether the fic incorporated the prompt given. Since it was an exchange fic, it was both on a deadline and a gift for someone, so which was more important - getting it checked and submitted on time, or making sure it was what the other person really wanted? If heroes_exchange was a class and the recipient was the professor, it would probably be more important that the submission matches the assignment, so I tend to use that as a benchmark regarding priorities in beta-reading.