Trigger warning: This blog post discusses the implications of misrepresenting marginalized communities and traumatic experiences, including racism, queerphobia, and ableism. Please exercise caution while reading.
One of the most common pieces of advice writers are given is to “write what we know.” But sometimes writing what we know can limit the potential for immersive stories with compelling characters. In recent years, writers, readers, and publishing professionals have been pushing for more diverse representation in the literary world. This can mean publishing and promoting more marginalized authors writing stories and characters that reflect their lives and experiences. It can also mean incorporating characters and experiences into our own work that we might not necessarily be familiar with.
Writing outside our lived experience can encompass a variety of options. We might explore the psychological effects of a character traumatized from war or depict a character with a different cultural background from ours. But choosing to do so comes with a certain amount of risk. Plenty of authors have come under fire on social media for insensitive or outright offensive portrayals of marginalized characters or traumatic experiences. The last thing an author wants to do is hurt people with their work or face backlash for getting it wrong.
That’s where sensitivity readers come in. Sensitivity readers are an invaluable resource for helping writers portray unfamiliar communities and experiences in a thoughtful, informed manner. They can help you avoid the pitfalls that come from writing without firsthand knowledge of a topic. Today, we’ll discuss:
- What Is a Sensitivity Reader?
- Why Should You Use Them?
- How Does Sensitivity Reading Work?
- Tips for Working with Sensitivity Readers
- Where Can You Find Sensitivity Readers?
What Is a Sensitivity Reader?
A sensitivity reader (also known as a sensitivity editor or authenticity reader) is a special kind of beta reader hired to look over a manuscript with special attention to how a particular character or experience is portrayed. Sensitivity readers help authors who are writing outside their lived experience ensure that they are portraying those experiences respectfully and authentically. These experiences can include race/ethnicity, gender/sexuality, disability/neurodivergence, and religion.
Sensitivity readers are paid professionals, not friends. This allows them to provide an objective critique of an author’s work and representation of certain characters or topics without a conflict of interest. Both independent authors and publishers work with sensitivity readers. Some sensitivity readers also offer editing services.
What Does a Sensitivity Reader Evaluate?
Sensitivity readers can evaluate how characters from certain communities or with certain identities or experiences are portrayed and whether those portrayals are authentic or play into stereotypes and problematic tropes. An autistic reader might call attention to a character who has been overly infantilized. Someone who grew up in poverty could provide insight into how it affected their mentality and everyday life. A reader with schizophrenia could identify misconceptions or inaccurate information regarding their disorder.
Characterization isn’t the only aspect of a book sensitivity readers consider. They might also look at other elements, such as how a character’s identity might influence the plot or whether an author’s worldbuilding decisions might inadvertently reinforce harmful cultural ideas in real life. Sensitivity readers can also highlight language or descriptions that could potentially fetishize, exoticize, or otherwise demean a character. Many common phrases in English, for instance, hold ableist implications, and a sensitivity reader attuned to disability representation could help redirect you toward more compassionate alternatives. A Black or Brown reader could point out that characters of color are explicitly identified by their race or skin tone while White characters are not, reinforcing the idea that White is the default.
Do Sensitivity Readers Promote Censorship?
Despite what some have argued, sensitivity reading is not censorship. Sensitivity readers do not hold final authority over the content of your book, nor do they wish to silence you. They provide suggestions for how to make the representation in your writing more authentic, more resonant, and ultimately, better storytelling.
Why Should You Use Sensitivity Readers?
Sensitivity readers can provide important insight into a community or experience you wish to depict but do not have firsthand knowledge of. Their background influences how they perceive and interact with the world. If you have a character from a different background than you or a traumatic event you haven’t experienced that plays a significant role in your story, a sensitivity reader can help you better portray it. (And sensitivity readers aren’t just for fiction — nonfiction authors can benefit from using them, too.)
We as writers shape how readers view the world around them, but our own worldviews are, in turn, shaped by the narratives about it we absorb. Our lived experiences and personal contexts dictate how we perceive the world, which may be very different from how our neighbor perceives the world. Certain tropes and narrative or character choices might have different implications for certain groups based on preexisting stereotypes or misconceptions. Giving an Asian American character overbearing parents, for instance, plays into a longstanding narrative around Asian American immigrant parenting that is overrepresented in media. The “feminist” archetype of the strong, independent woman popularized in the 2010s may have been empowering and subversive for White women, but for Black women, it reflects a very real stereotype that minimizes the toll on their emotional and mental health, with real-life consequences.
With great power comes great responsibility. Sensitivity readers help us consider how our biases and preconceptions affect our perceptions of other people and their experiences. They help us understand how our readers might see the world and themselves, so that we may reflect it back to them in a way that feels true to them.
How Does Sensitivity Reading Work?
Finding a Sensitivity Reader
When choosing a sensitivity reader, try to find one who matches your character’s experience as closely as possible. If your character belongs to several marginalized communities, it might be a good idea to find a reader who belongs to the same marginalized communities in order to understand how their identities intersect and affect each other.
If you’re working with a publisher, your editor might have a list of freelancers they work with already available. If you’re hiring one yourself, many sensitivity readers advertise their services online through their own websites, social media, and/or freelance marketplaces, such as Fiverr. Editing databases are also good resources for finding sensitivity readers. We’ll provide our own list of sensitivity reading services later in the article.
Rates for sensitivity readers can vary, with some charging by the word, some by the hour, and some offering fixed rates for a given word count. Fixed rates for sensitivity reads tend to start at around $250. Some editing services offer editorial packages that include sensitivity reading alongside other types of editing, such as developmental editing, and charge accordingly.
Once you’ve selected a sensitivity reader, contact them either directly or through your editor. Let them know what character or situation they’re reading for and the role it plays in the story, as well as manuscript word count, genre (and age for young readers), turnaround time, and where you are in the publishing process. Sensitivity reads can occur at different stages in a book’s production, from the early drafts to just before proofreading. Ideally, since publishing runs on a short timeline, you’ll want to have your sensitivity reader look over your manuscript early enough in the process for them to give a thorough report and for you to make any structural changes if necessary. An alternative option is to consult a sensitivity reader earlier in the writing process to help steer you in the right direction.
Importantly, make sure you draw up the terms of your agreement in a contract so both you and your reader understand the expectations.
The Sensitivity Reading Process
Sensitivity reading typically takes two to five weeks for a finished manuscript. During that time, the reader will pay special attention to the area they’ve been asked to cover, providing feedback through inline notes and a comprehensive final report. A good sensitivity reader will give constructive, detailed critiques supplemented with historical and social context and suggestions for alternatives. The writer can schedule a follow-up conversation to ask further questions and gain clarification if necessary.
Tips for Working With Sensitivity Readers
Working with a sensitivity reader for the first time can be intimidating. Here are some pointers to keep in mind that will help you build a good relationship with your sensitivity reader and make the most of your feedback:
Sensitivity Reading Is Emotional Labor
Sensitivity readers have committed to evaluating a manuscript that was not written from their perspective, and as such, may reflect an author’s biases or prejudices. Many of them are reading to assess how accurately their personal, sometimes traumatic experiences have been depicted. They risk potentially being triggered or retraumatized, and to some degree, they’re learning how their community or experience is perceived by those on the outside. These readers take on the risk of potential harm or emotional distress in order to prevent future readers from experiencing it themselves. As such, it’s important to make sure they are compensated fairly and treated well.
No Marginalized Group Is a Monolith
It’s important to remember that your sensitivity reader does not speak for every member of the group they belong to. A variety of factors influence people’s relationships with their race, gender, sexuality, disability, and even trauma. These factors can include their class and economic standing, the community they grew up in, and their family and/or cultural background. For instance, as a Filipino American who grew up middle class with US-born parents, I have a different cultural experience than a Filipino American growing up working class with immigrant parents. Certain disorders and illnesses can also vary from person to person, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, where sufferers might experience any of a wide variety of obsessions and compulsions (not just germs and handwashing!), and with different degrees of severity.
What your sensitivity reader might find inauthentic or problematic might not necessarily be the case for others in the community, and vice versa. Nonetheless, their unique perspective can provide valuable insight into how your character may experience the world.
Communicate Respectfully — and Be Prepared to Receive Criticism
As much research as you put into your writing, you likely won’t get everything right the first time. While it can be difficult to receive criticism or learn that you may have approached something in a harmful way, it’s important to accept your sensitivity reader’s feedback with grace. Thank them for the feedback, and ask questions if you need clarification or want more information, but don’t challenge them or get defensive. Take time to process if you need to, so that you can communicate with a clear head.
Approach the sensitivity reading process as a dialogue, with your sensitivity reader offering pathways into a richer narrative. Not all of their suggestions might necessarily be criticism — some of them might be opportunities to add detail or depth to the story. Becky Albertalli, for instance, talks about a sensitivity reader who gave her the idea for a scene in The Upside of Unrequited where someone insinuates that a bisexual character’s two mothers raised her to be queer.
You also might not necessarily agree with all of their suggestions, especially if you’ve heard different input from others in their community. Ultimately, you have the final say over whether and how you implement a sensitivity reader’s feedback. A sensitivity reader is not a guarantee against criticism from readers, and they should not be used as shields to deflect criticism.
It’s important for you to take responsibility for your words, but also to give credit where credit is due. Just keep in mind that while some sensitivity readers appreciate being recognized by name in an author’s acknowledgements, others prefer not to. Be sure to check with your sensitivity reader in advance and honor their preferences.
Sensitivity Readers Should Supplement Research — Not Replace It
Learn as much as you can about the communities you’re writing about beforehand. Resources like Writing the Other (along with the book by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward), Writing With Color, CrippleCharacters, or Reddit forums can provide excellent guidance for how to approach writing certain characters and situations, especially what tropes to avoid and what considerations to keep in mind. They can also give you an idea of whether there are any fundamental issues with your story’s concept so that you can make necessary adjustments before writing the actual book. Karen Yin’s Conscious Style Guide is another great resource to help you think more intentionally about the language you use when you write.
By starting your writing from an informed perspective, you’ll ease some of the educational and emotional burden on your sensitivity reader and minimize the risk of perpetuating stereotypes or harmful tropes. You’ll also gain a fuller picture of the community you’re representing and the range of experiences within it, providing you with a good variety of perspectives.
Sensitivity reads are an investment, and while they’re worth the compensation, it can be difficult to hire multiple readers if your budget is limited. Researching as much as possible can help, and some people may be willing to offer sensitivity reading in exchange for other services. And while it’s typically not a good idea to enlist your friends as sensitivity readers, you can ask for their input on certain elements of a story or character if they’re comfortable giving it.
Ultimately, you are responsible for putting in the work to understand the communities and experiences you’re writing about. A sensitivity reader isn’t there to do that work for you — they’re there to help facilitate that work.
Where Can You Find Sensitivity Readers?
Sensitivity Reading Services
Writing Diversely is a team of writers, editors, and consultants who offer sensitivity reading services and represent a variety of communities and intersections. Quiethouse Editing has its own group of diversity and location readers who can provide feedback on setting accuracy as well as characters. Salt and Sage Books provides a range of editorial services, including sensitivity reading. Inclusive Minds works specifically with children’s book authors.
Sensitivity Reader Databases
Sensitivity Reviews is the only sensitivity reader training course and has a database of certified sensitivity readers. Firefly Creative Writing also has a curated list of freelance sensitivity readers. ACES: The Society for Editing allows writers to filter through its editor database for sensitivity readers, while Language, Please has an Inclusivity Reader Directory (although accessing the readers’ contact information requires an account).
Writing outside our lived experience can feel daunting. We may be concerned about reinforcing stereotypes, spreading misinformation, or otherwise perpetuating harm against those communities. But that shouldn’t stop us from writing diverse characters or exploring new stories. Sensitivity readers can help us navigate this unfamiliar territory, helping us create characters and stories that not only resonate with people but also make them feel seen.
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