I am pleased to be picking up more sensitivity reads in the upcoming weeks. The money I earn will go toward hiring a professional editor, who will make my own voices YA historical novel the best that it can be. (Stay tuned for more info on its publishing plans.)
But with one of those sensitivity reads, I’m exchanging not money but an expert reading of my book. You may ask, “What is the difference between a sensitivity reader and an expert reader?”
On one level, a sensitivity reader is an expert reader. Sensitivity readers are specialists in the subject matter or characterization with personal experience of belonging to the marginalized group. They’re reading the manuscript for accuracy, authenticity, and freedom from the tropes or stereotypes that serve as shortcuts to complexity and truth. They’re making sure portrayals by outsiders don’t bring harm to readers within the group due to distortions, lies, cultural appropriation, or expropriation of intellectual property. It’s a tough job sometimes, because we’re exposing ourselves to false and hurtful tropes so others who share our backgrounds and experiences won’t have to.
I’m serving as a sensitivity reader for a manuscript about two sisters, one of whom is autistic and the other neurotypical. In contrast to many books of this type, which tell the story from the neurotypical sibling’s point of view and rely on either the caretaker trope (the nondisabled sibling, regardless of birth order, takes on the responsibility for a “less capable” disabled sibling) or the resentful sibling trope (the nondisabled sibling resents the time parents devote to the disabled sibling, or the bending of rules), this novel presents the point of view of both sisters. Along with avoiding the sibling tropes (not a given, but from what I’ve seen, less of a problem when both perspectives are included), that means I have to determine whether the autistic sister’s perception of herself and the world rings true. Other things I look at are the community surrounding the autistic protagonist and her family; while there may be people who don’t understand or accept her, we shouldn’t be treated to an entire community that has turned against her or turned their backs on her.
In return, this author is serving as an expert reader on my manuscript featuring a neurodiverse teenager who, along with two other teens, may have to escape from a totalitarian Communist country in Eastern Europe to avoid a much worse fate. While my expert reader grew up in a totalitarian Communist country and managed to escape, leaving family behind in the process much as my characters would have to do, this reading for accuracy and authenticity is not technically a sensitivity read. While he is Latinx and would be considered a member of a marginalized group in the U.S., it’s not the same marginalization that my neurodiverse protagonist or any others in the novel share. Having the misfortune to live in an unfree country does not in and of itself indicate marginalization, though most dictatorships past and present marginalize and persecute racial, ethnic, and religious minorities and LGBTQ+ and disabled individuals. Hence, the more general term of expert reader, but one with a personal connection to the story.
Other expert readers don’t share the personal experiences of the characters, but may be called in because of their academic training or professional work. For instance, someone asked me to be a sensitivity reader for elementary-age children who are anxious about active-shooter drills. Leaving aside the question of what kind of country would need to train children to survive mass murderers with automatic weapons coming into their schools, this sounds like a problem that would affect most young children, not ones specifically diagnosed with anxiety disorders. So I suggested instead that the writer consult a school psychologist — an expert who has training in working with schoolchildren in general in crisis situations. Similarly, in an own voices picture book on which I’m collaborating with another author with more experience in writing successful picture books, we’ve consulted an expert reader who has helped us with standard procedures to follow when an autistic child gets into a fistfight with a classmate.
If you’ve wondered what a sensitivity reader does, and what the difference is between a sensitivity reader and an expert reader, I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask questions below. And if you’re looking for a sensitivity reader on neurodiversity for your book — from picture books to adult — I’m here to help. Leave a message on my contact page or contact me via Facebook or Twitter (Twitter handle: @LMillerLachmann).