Working With Sensitivity Readers

WORKING WITH SENSITIVITY READERS

With Translucent up for pre-order, and the third book in the series heading off to sensitivity readers soon, I thought that I would talk a little bit about what it's been like working with them. I can only talk mostly about disability because that's where the majority of my experience lies, and I don't wanna be misleading people about the process.

For those who don't know, sensitivity readers are people who have lived experience with a certain minority. Sometimes more than just the one, other times they are more focused on one particular area. For both Invisible and Translucent, I used two, one for a myriad of conditions mentioned, and the other for just one disability mentioned. Both had completely different ways of working and presenting their queries and both were a joy to work with. I will be employing them both again for Visible, which is the third book, and in the process of being revised right now.

So what is it like to work with them? While my experience has, again, mostly been with disability, I have found it to be a very important part of the process. It allows me to learn not just if my rep isn't all that great, but the little details I have no experience with, can add to the story as a whole. Like with Translucent, there were body language details, and other small things that would help strengthen my characters and their experiences. I loved getting their reports not just to see what I had right, but also what didn't work and how to maybe change this and that and be able to get a better character experience from it.

So what should you expect from a sensitivity reader?

#1 COMMENTS ON YOUR REP
This can be inline comments, or even a full breakdown of each chapter along with bits and pieces that need tweaking here and there. It should be something where the changes that are needed are clearly outlined and allow you to move forward with their advice. Obviously you don't have to take their advice, but if you choose not to, and it has a negative impact on the character, the rep, and the story, then people are going to be upset about it, and it will be on your head.

#2 PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
By this I mean, you shouldn't have someone who is aggressively yelling at you for getting something wrong. You should be paying this person, and that is not something I will ever change my mind on, and it is a working relationship so there should be a professional approach on both sides. That means you shouldn't be yelling at them either about how you don't agree with this and that and changing it would ruin the vibe or whatever. I feel like this should go without saying, but if not, there it is.

#3 OPEN COMMUNICATION
I've always been clear when I expect the document and notes back, and because my books are generally long, I give two months for them to work on the project. Sometimes that means that we do check ins after a month, other times I don't hear from them because there's no issues. But the lines of communications should be open both ways. Don't sit there and seethe because they didn't meet a deadline you didn't tell them about. Be clear with what you want, and stick to it. Communication is a big thing.

So there we go, those are three of the big ones. Like I said, Translucent is up for pre-order now, and I'm itching to get Visible ready for the readers. Good luck with your writing, and hope this helps!

Any questions? Lemme know in the comments!

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