Working with Sensitivity Readers
When writing about a community or perspective different than your own, I can’t recommend sensitivity readers enough.
In my own experience, I know how it feels to give feedback to writers whose dialogue sounds as if they’ve never met a single living human woman. On the receiving end, I’ve gotten the note that a term I used without second thought actually means something entirely different within my character’s culture.
As an act of empathy, basic respect, and simply good craft, it’s critical we approach writing about other people’s experiences with humility and an open mind. Sensitivity readers offer guidance as we do so.
What Do Sensitivity Readers Do?
A sensitivity reader (sometimes also called a “script consultant” or “expert reader”) reads your work and gives feedback focused on a particular perspective. Some people incorrectly assume the sensitivity reader just looks for offensive or harmful language. While they certainly do, a good reader offers a lot more than that.
At their best, sensitivity readers approach the work with a goal of authentic, respectful representation of a particular point of view or culture—almost always their own. They function as a diplomat of sorts between the writer and a perspective outside that writer’s experience.
So in addition to offensive language, a sensitivity reader might flag when a character seems underdeveloped, falls into a specific trope, or says something that won’t necessarily ring true to some readers.
Where Do I Find a Sensitivity Reader?
Once you have a piece deep in the development/publication process, you may find the sensitivity readers come to you. Publishers often include a sensitivity reader in the editing process. Playwrights can request dramaturgs and even directors that speak to cultural sensitivities within the work. And screenwriters may incorporate producer-hired script consultants.
However, in my experience, if you’re working on a story or character far outside your experience, it’s invaluable to bring on sensitivity readers much earlier in the writing process—which usually means finding and funding them yourself.
I've worked with a few different sensitivity readers and mainly found them by asking for recommendations from people who are part of (or work with) the specific community in question.
As I was developing my play The Storehouse, in which the Black writer and abolitionist Harriet Jacobs plays a leading role, I reached out for sensitivity readers through a Facebook group of like-minded playwrights who had big networks. I didn’t have a lot of money at the time, so I asked if anyone studying dramaturgy in school might be interested in developing their experience as a sensitivity reader for a stipend. I met and worked with two talented women who responded to that open call.
Generally the folks I've worked with are studying dramaturgy, literature, or criticism in college or graduate school and want the experience. For us dramatic writers, certain actors may also be the right fit, depending on the piece and whether you're looking for insight overall or about a specific character.
What Should I Ask a Sensitivity Reader?
Most experienced sensitivity readers won’t need your questions. Frankly, they’ll know far better than you what to look for when reading about their specific culture.
But if your reader is relatively new to the process, here are a few to consider:
Where could my characters use more depth and complexity?
In what moments does the dialogue feel a little off?
What messages in this work concern you that perhaps I don’t see?
What moments need more detail or cultural specificity?
These may not be the questions you ask, but note a couple of things about them:
They’re open-ended, rather than yes or no.
Your questions should assume in advance you know there will be moments you’ll need to improve. This allows the reader to respond honestly without worrying you’'re looking for a simple check mark to say you’re “sensitivity reader-approved.” You should be prepared to do the work, and your questions should reflect that.
They’re relatively broad.
The questions should give your reader a simple jumping-off point. By definition, you can’t really guide them through the process of telling you your own blind spots. The feelings that come up for them and the things that stand out may surprise you.
The Writer’s Obligation to the Sensitivity Reader
Once I've found the right fit, I outline the agreement in an email, which can function as a written agreement if not an official contract. I add a quick note that they’re working as a consultant and won't own or be able to claim any credits or future rights to the work. (This has never come up for me personally, but it’s an important protection.)
I always, always, always pay sensitivity readers. Sensitivity readers are different from beta readers: they’ve agreed to engage with work they know may upset, trigger, or offend them. Even more, they’ve agreed to educate the writer on whatever issues they may find in the work. That’s a big commitment and an enormous amount of emotional labor.
Depending on the person's experience, I usually pay somewhere between $50-$200. That covers a full read and one-page report of any issues they notice. It also includes one thirty-minute phone call where I can ask questions about their feedback. Anything more than that, and we agree on an additional payment.
(Professional sensitivity readers hired by editors and producers often make far more than this. This simply reflects what I pay on my own before I would consider the script ready for submission.)
Beyond the pay, you have a larger responsibility to approach the process with kindness and an open mind. You should decide in advance that were the reader to find serious problems with your work, you will take a step back and re-evaluate whether and how to continue.
In other words, you’re committing to giving power and space to this reader’s words. You can always get a second opinion, but really engage with their feedback and allow them to educate you.
Doing so in my own experience has made me a better writer and person.
Respect Beyond Readers
A sensitivity reader isn’t a final pass or fail on your work. It’s one part of a complex process as you engage with the different perspectives in your work.
I knew a writer once who, when I brought up issues about his portrayal of women, snapped back, “Well, my wife disagrees.” Obviously we aren’t a monolith, and many women may not have had a problem with this (extremely buxom) cocktail waitress. But once he asked the rest of our writer’s group, he realized his wife was in the minority.
Similarly, even after working with two sensitivity readers on The Storehouse, as we prepared for our premiere, my director brought up something that concerned her as a Black woman. She was absolutely right, and if I’d responded with, “I used two sensitivity readers and neither of them brought this up,” the script would suffer badly (and so would my relationship with the director).
One reader won’t always know or see every way you can improve. So beyond using sensitivity readers, you need to engage with the community. If you’re writing about another perspective—especially a minority or underrepresented group—you should know and love members of that community before your pen ever hits the page.
Find writers’ groups with diverse perspectives. Seek out relationships with writers and mentors who will challenge your work and tell you when you’re off-base. Build cross-cultural friendships where the other person feels safe to call you out.
These are big tasks. It’s the kind of lifelong work that outlives our current projects and lays the groundwork for the future—for even better work from a more evolved, educated, respectful version of ourselves.