Mr Alex Parmar |

Services

Copy Editing

Proofreading

Critique/structural edit

Post-project support

Specialisms

Fiction (especially science fiction and fantasy), memoir, short story.

Clients

Mostly, my clients are independent authors. Feel free to get in touch, whether you are or not!

Testimonials

‘I found the chapter breakdown as well as headers for key recurring points/themes very useful. Your understanding of the genre and assessment of the book itself were clearly demonstrated and very useful. As well as the specific critique/feedback points, made good observations around the thematic content and inspirations for the book and made good suggestions to make these stronger. You also included positive feedback, generally and specifically, which helped me to understand what is good about the book as well as what needs improvement, including specific chapters you enjoyed – giving me a standard in mind to work towards.’

Dean Biddulph

‘Alex James really knows his stuff. He knew exactly what my work required, polishing it to a professional standard which I am now happy to publish. He even went beyond copy-editing and highlighted areas that didn’t make sense, which I took on board. I would highly recommend him. His work is professional, the communication is excellent and he even finished ahead of time. Thank you, Alex.’

FD Fuggle

‘Having Alex edit my work made the final drafting of my book so much easier.

The way he delivered his feedback was always very professional, not once did I feel criticised unfairly, nor felt the need to justify the stylistic decisions I made while writing the book, I felt like Alex understood my writing right from the beginning, which enabled me to focus on enhancements.

Writing a book can often be a long, hard slog and the thought of the “real work” beginning at editing stage can be daunting, but Alex made the task a much lighter one.’

Jason Long

‘Once again, I can see you’ve done a very thorough job and given me plenty to think about and work through. I’m very pleased with your positive comments around writing style and movement of the story, which is encouraging, and of course appreciate all your constructive feedback too. Much of your critique around voice, dialogue and specific chapters was in line with my expectations. I particularly found your comments around the ‘racial struggles’ and confusion around where/when Christopher was at times to be interesting and thoughtful – highlighting the challenge for me in writing some ‘challenging’ content for readers without pushing them too far/confusing them too much… which I think is the key for me to tweak and find the right balance.’

Dean Biddulph

'Alex, just wanted to drop a line or two to thank you for the excellent job you did on the proofreading of my Novel "TRIP, The Rhea Initiative Project". It was amazingly helpful from so many points of view. Not only your masterful command of the language, but your help in making it clear to me what my writing actually told another person, looking at it with fresh eyes. Besides the corrections in grammar and orthography, I caught a plot hole. So, I truly appreciate your work. The edit of "Another boring day in space" was good too, I'm working on that one now. Thanks. I look forward to working with you again soon.'

TJ Manrique

"I found Alex during a Google search when looking to get a professional proofread done for my science-fiction story "White Hole". Alex got back to me very quickly and was very friendly and approachable in his communication, showing a genuine interest in my work and desire to help. This was in direct contrast to some of the other proofreaders I had approached, who were much less personable. Alex's rates were very reasonable and it didn't take long for me to decide that I would go with him.

He completed the proofread within the agreed deadline and even went as far to produce a "database" of characters and phrases from the novel, which will be very useful when making the final edits. Alex's work was thorough, and he displayed a genuine understanding of the world I was trying to create and the characters within it. He was very good at pointing out moments where the writing might not make sense, but always gave suggestions as to how to resolve this, whilst being very respectful about my work. I am genuinely convinced that the writing has improved vastly thanks to his input. On top of this, he also pointed out moments that he really enjoyed or found amusing, which nicely balanced out with the more critical aspects that proofreading must necessarily have. It was encouraging to know that, whilst the work did need some improvements, it still succeeded in being enjoyable to its reader. 

I have really enjoyed working with Alex and would certainly return to him for his services in future"

Jon Bowen

• Editor
• Proofreader

• Dystopian fiction
• Reference
• Science fiction & fantasy
• Speculative fiction

• Self-publishing
• Writing
• Ebooks
• Formatting/layout