Alex Benarzi – See the world differently

Elevate Your Unique Voice

With Professional, Clear and Human Editing

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Creative Writers

You understand the value of a well-paced story and complex characters. You have seen how impactful a writer’s voice can be to the success of their work. I help fiction writers, memoirists and essayists understand and improve the voice and heartbeat of their manuscript and help create polished, publishable stories.

Professional Writers

You know that your work needs to be clear and accessible. You appreciate the value of a persuasive idea. You understand that your writing is like your voice: it must instill confidence and trust. I help professionals (academics, solopreneurs and small-business owners) communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.

Services

Manuscript Evaluation

Gain a fresh perspective on your work with a professional evaluation. You will receive a report outlining your manuscript’s strengths, areas for improvement and editorial and publication recommendations.

Structural Editing

Give your manuscript’s structure and content a clear shape. A structural edit (sometimes called a developmental edit) looks at “big picture” aspects relating to the audience, purpose and medium of the work.

Stylistic Editing

Elevate your voice with clarity, consistency and flow. A stylistic edit examines the manuscript on a paragraph and sentence level, refining the language to best meet your audience’s needs.

Copy Editing

Put your work’s best foot forward. Copy editing ensures correctness and consistency in spelling, grammar, punctuation and usage. A copy edit checks that all elements of the manuscript are accurate.

Digital Accessibility Evaluation

Ensure your digital content is available to all. You will receive a report assessing your document’s visual elements and how your design and language reflects the needs of your audience.

Consultation

Address targeted concerns. Book a consultation over phone, video call or email. This is a chance to discuss specific concerns and receive practical advice on the writing, editing or publishing process.

Resources

BLOG

Insight and advice for writers, editors and anyone concerned with accessibility in the literary space.

USEFUL LINKS

Websites and books on writing, editing and publishing that I find helpful. I will habitually rotate the resources, so check back regularly.

DOWNLOADS

Free resources for writers and editors

FAQ

What are your qualifications as an editor?

I have a certificate in editing from Simon Fraser University. I am also a member of Editors Canada and ACES, through which I continue my professional development. I have over six years’ experience as a professional editor. I am also a member of the Writers Guild of Alberta, through which I continue to engage with current trends in writing and publishing.

Why don’t you offer developmental or line editing services?

Editing has a lot of terminology that varies from region to region. As a Canadian editor, I follow Editors Canada’s Professional Editorial Standards (PES24). The types of editing outlined in these standards are structural, stylistic, copy and proofreading. Developmental editing is parallel to structural editing. Line editing is similar to stylistic editing.

How do I know what type of editing I need?

When in doubt, ask. A professional editor will be honest with you and not try to upsell you. Many editors, including me, provide a description of the services they offer. But every work is different: an introductory call (via email, phone or video) can help both you and the editor clarify what your needs are.

Is there a good reason to pay for professional editing services when there are AI tools that offer quality editing?

Ultimately, you need to do what is comfortable for you and your budget. I wrote an article that tries to objectively demonstrate the differences between the top AI editing tools and a human editor. You can find it on my blog.

Why are there typos in professionally published works? Were they poorly edited?

Some published books and web content is unedited or only edited on a surface level. Still, it is important to remember that humans are not perfect (neither is AI). A typo or two is not the mark of a bad editor or a bad book, webpage or paper. Michael Jordan missed a shot or two.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Alex on two of my projects. He did a very in-depth analysis of my characters, stories, structure, setting and provided excellent insights. He is also not critical of breaking the rules which I have found is common amongst most editors. I have worked with many editors before and most didn’t have an out of box thinking and were not comfortable if my writing didn’t follow a traditional approach. Alex is also quite professional when it comes to timelines. His prices are also reasonable and according to industry standards.”

I would like to thank Alex Benarzi for his attention to detail as the line editor and going above and beyond to ensure the book is well written, flows, and has no mistakes. His meticulous efforts have greatly contributed to the quality of this work.

“If you need editing that involves fast turnaround and careful attention to detail, Alex is the person to contact. I needed a fresh pair of eyes to glance over one of my chapters (70+ pages) for my PhD thesis and Alex was able to catch important punctuation and stylistic details that several of my previous readers missed. Most importantly, he was able to return his edits to me within 24 hours. I greatly appreciated his awareness of MLA formatting and his willingness to double check information outside what's written on the page. He takes his editing work seriously! I highly recommend his services.”

You will not regret hiring Alex. From start to finish, he provided first-rate edits. Throughout each step of our work on my 80-page historical novella, I looked forward to reading Alex’s suggested. It was such a pleasure to see my book develop and become more and more refined with Alex’s help. In some places, I had sentences that I couldn’t quite make work and he found solutions that were pure gold. On top of that, he was always available to answer any questions I had more fully and quickly than I expected. I’m not even sure if Alex sleeps because when I say he responds quickly, I mean it. All in all, top notch editing from a real professional.