The ability to spot what is wrong.
That can include spelling mistakes, general typos, the wrong word used, missing words, duplicated words, 2 words were it should be 1, 1 word where it should be 2, formatting issues, chapter numbering mistakes, and anything that just is wrong.
A good one will also tell you when a sentence is clunky, or they didn’t understand something, or if they spot contradictions.
A good one who has read the entire series will also point out contradictions between books.
Basically, it’s the ability to spot all the tiny things wrong in a book, before it gets published.
Everyone has blind spots, including proof readers, but a good proof reader misses a lot less than the author does.
Their job is quite literally to find all the goofs, just by reading it.
Some people do this automatically, others learn it.
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