Completing a course is invaluable, and here are the skills and traits I’ve found useful for beta reading, copyediting and proofreading. They can also be applied to self-editing.

Attention to detail

You need to keep details consistent across a piece of writing, whether a manuscript or series, normally using a character list and style sheet or guide.

Curiosity

Curiosity both about the subject of the book and decisions made by the author. This allows for open communication and collaboration as to why you and the author have made certain choices for the text. This also applies to the curiosity to keep learning from books and others.

Communication

Being able to explain why you’ve made a change to the text, whether due to an error or to make a sentence more impactful, is crucial. No change should be made to the manuscript for the sake of it, and you should be able to explain and justify your changes.

Patience

Even with regular breaks, it takes time and focus to work through a manuscript. You also need to know when to take time away from the manuscript to consider how to phrase a comment or to make a change that strengthens the manuscript.

Open mindedness

I’m a great believer in if you’re going to give feedback you need to be able to take it. It helps to foster a collaborative atmosphere while working on a manuscript and helps editors and proofreaders to adapt their approach to individual authors and their preferences.