After I finished Atlas Calling, I took a few weeks off and then started the second book in the Unbound series centered around Reyn’s best friend and coworker, Sam. I knew that I wanted Sam’s story to be different and I wanted his struggle to be with something out of his control. Sam goes through a major trauma in this story and in order to create an authentic and meaningful inner conflict, I turned to a sensitivity reader when I completed the first draft.
Sensitivity readers are growing in popularity as authors strive to create more content that is inclusive and diverse. I reached out to MFA peers to get their recommendations and was thrilled to find someone who could speak to what I had written about Sam’s struggle.
The reader took three weeks and went over my manuscript with a fine-tooth comb. She only looked for issues relating to the specific trauma my protagonist was experiencing. The best time to get a sensitivity reader is after the first round of self-edits. At this point, you are most open to changes and willing to make them. At the end of the three weeks, I received a full report on areas where I needed to improve and change how I spoke about Sam’s issue and comments were left on the manuscript as well so that I knew exactly where the issues she mentioned in her report came up.
If you are a writer writing a character who is different from yourself and your experience, I would suggest working with a sensitivity reader. I’m not going to lie and say that her feedback didn’t sting at times, because it did, but her perspective added a new layer of authenticity and reality that was missing before. I had no idea how to speak to Sam’s experience but this reader did. By seeking out her input before I sent the manuscript to my publisher, I was able to fix critical issues that would have come up in reviews and feedback from readers had the book been published.
This was my first time seeking the help of a sensitivity reader but it won’t be the last. My book is better, more polished, and more emotionally real because of the feedback I received and I would gladly hire someone again. Part of writing is growth and that’s exactly what hiring a sensitivity reader encouraged in me.