I think as a proofreader, the smartest thing you can do is when you review it, start with the big ideas first. How is this piece organized? Are the ideas all in place? And then you start to trickle down into the sentence structure, the grammar, punctuation, that sort of stuff. So you don't get in the weeds too quickly. I think that's a common mistake. It's okay to tell them that we've got an organization issue before we tell them that a sentence is worded weird.
To be successful in this, you need to be detail-oriented. You can't rush through the project. You have to make sure you are focusing on the content and not, don't get, especially if it's a book, don't get carried away in the story. But if it's in a document, you need to not just be looking for the technical mistakes, you have to read for making sure that it makes sense as well. And you need to be prompt in returning things and also be kind when you're working with authors. I worked with one that her punctuation was terrible and I corrected it and, you know, I told her I love the content and love the story and want to read the next book. And I gave her some suggestions, she was aware of her failings, and I gave her some suggestions and some websites of places that I had gone to study for myself that would benefit her. And she was appreciative.