Sensitivity Reader Services
So, you’ve just finished writing a great blog, debut book manuscript (Congrats!), or just a stellar first chapter (Another congrats! We all start somewhere.), and you’re getting ready to either put it through some edits or push it off to publish. (Or a peer review first, which AF.FORD MEDIA’s beta reading services entail.)
But then, you come across something called “sensitivity reading.”
What is it doing popping up everywhere in the publishing and editing world? What does it mean? And most importantly, what might it mean for you and your work? Let’s dig into it.
What or (More Accurately) Who Is a Sensitivity Reader? How Do They Relate to Sensitivity Reading?
A sensitivity reader is a person with an intimate or informed understanding of certain identities and communities, and given that, looks over your manuscript to check for issues with its representation of such marginalized identities, whether with isolated cases such as specific terminology or references (like physical appearances or person vs identity) to wider cases such as storyline tropes around a marginalized character or personality tropes (like a character of a certain background or experience being depicted in a very stereotypical way by dialogue, dress, and the like). This process is known technically as sensitivity reading, and it ensures that marginalized groups and experiences are interpreted and showcased in your writing in a respectful, three-dimensional light.
Sensitivity readers will look over your writing in full and make comments or provide feedback on all of those such instances (and then some) where they see that more sensitivity could be beneficial.
Do I (or When Do I) Need a Sensitivity Reader?
You know that saying, “When in doubt, do without?” Yeah, that doesn’t apply so much in this case. If you have some apprehension or uncertainty about what sensitivity-aware writing is and whether or not your work already has included it, then you might benefit in getting another opinion. A sensitivity reader can help you zero in on some possible blind spots you might not even be aware of, so that you can avoid any social blunders like lost fanfare, soured networking deals, and bad reviews.
You know it’s real when even established, best-selling authors have caught some flak, resulting in just book bans if they’re lucky. So, if that realization was enough for you just now, then yeah, move on down to the next question.
How Can I Get a Sensitivity Reader?
Luckily, sensitivity readers and cultural consultants can be found in various places on the internet. A great place to start is looking into editorial and sensitivity reading directories and databases. Sensitivity reading Facebook groups and other social media groups are others.
However, having a list of sensitivity readers isn’t quite the same as having ones specifically tailored to the special areas of your content. You’ll want to be sure that whatever core areas you’re looking to get insights on, whether a specific socioeconomic status, culture, or life experience, are the same areas that your sensitivity reader of choice focuses on as areas of expertise.
Some Sensitivity Reader Areas of Expertise
AF.FORD MEDIA (having sensitivity reading education, edited nonfiction content for sports and publishing media brands such as Curated and Dotdash, performed content strategy for Fortune 500 clients, and written stories around minority groups that received Stage 32, Outfest, and WeScreenplay nods) and its sensitivity reader service covers the following areas of expertise:
– LGBTQ+: Androgyny, gender questioning, questioning sexuality, lesbian, bisexuality
-African-American/Black
-Mental illness: Depression, social anxiety, social avoidance, avoidant personality disorder, agoraphobia
-Trauma: Bullying, ostracism, abuse survivor
-Abusive romantic and platonic relationships: Mental, psychological, emotional
-Physical therapy: Back, ankle, and knee sprains/injuries/ailments
-Women’s/All-girls high school
-Being a minority in a predominantly non-minority educational institution and/or workplace
-Vegetarian/vegan lifestyle
AF.FORD MEDIA’s sensitivity reader service handles the following genres/categories:
-Creative nonfiction (memoirs; cookbooks; marketing/business/sales short-form social posts, textual and video advertisements, infographics, email subject lines and body copy/messaging, UX/user experience and user interface copy for apps and landing pages, web page and landing page ads, video scripts, blogs, and long-form articles in lifestyle, media, e-commerce, retail)
-Promotional artwork (CDs, digital album, EP, mixtape, and song covers, event displays, etc.)
-Fiction (Magical realism/low fantasy, speculative/sci-fi, mysteries, psychological thrillers, romance, romcom, drama, coming-of-age)
How Much Do Sensitivity Reader Services Cost?
Sensitivity readers’ quotes and pricing can vary based on personal standards, time, and effort put into their respective work.
AF.FORD MEDIA’s sensitivity reader service matches just around the editorial freelancer industry rates standards at an hourly rate based on page count per hour. (And yes, we offer beta reading services as well.)
To get a custom idea based on your particular content, fill out this quick form below describing your particular piece of content’s concept and genre, its number of pages, and its number of words. You’ll be contacted soon thereafter.* It’s always great hearing from new creators!
*Please Note: If a request made in the form below is declined, it holds no bearing on the quality of your work. In those instances, a current max. quota of clients/requests have reached out at that particular time, or your piece of content might be outside of the aforementioned areas of expertise that are most comfortable at this time.
Think your work is finally ready for or needs sensitivity reader services?
Talk about it.