Sensitivity Between the Lines
Welcome to Blue Ridge Sensitivity Between the Lines (Sensitivity BTL). Write diversity with authenticity.
WHAT IS SENSITIVITY BTL?
Consider the world you live in. Your cultural experiences, likes, dislikes, fears, and even biases are based on your community. As an author writing about another culture, how can you best represent a group of people who are not like you? One way is through help from a sensitivity reader. Without a sensitivity reader, the likelihood of authentic representation significantly dwindles. Why? Because from the outside looking in, it’s unlikely an author will understand the complete experience of what it means to be a part of a marginalized community.
The role of a sensitivity reader is not censorship but to assist the author in creating an accurate portrayal of a marginalized community. My desire is to open doors of communication between ethnic and non-ethnic writers in a safe environment to learn and ask questions.
PURPOSE
The purpose is to help connect writers with professional sensitivity readers in an environment that brings both together and assists in strengthening writers’ understanding and authenticity in their manuscript concerning a marginalized community.
GOAL
The goal is to connect writers with readers from marginalized communities and allow writers to obtain a more accurate depiction of individuals/communities outside of their own.
Sensitivity BTL is designed to give authors the needed assistance to write with genuineness in their manuscripts concerning diversity in order to honor and respect the marginalized communities.
EXPECTIONS
What can writers expect? A reader thoroughly reviews the material for bias, stereotypes, offensiveness, lack of understanding, etc., and offers the author their thoughts for solutions to possible problem areas within a manuscript. The objective is to review text for authentic portrayal of a marginalized community, not to edit a manuscript for clarity and logic. They’re in place to help the writer achieve authenticity, but there’s no guarantee a reader will catch everything.
Sensitivity readers allow the writer to enter their world and offer ways to represent their communities with accuracy. They are paid for their expertise.
Who needs a sensitivity reader? Anyone who writes outside of their own community. I believe this shouldn’t be optional for writers who choose to write with diversity.
Guidelines for Writers
- Contact the manager Edwina Perkins through email at harambeepress@gmail.com
- A questionnaire will be sent to the writer. When the document is completed and returned, a sensitivity reader will be considered for the manuscript.
- The manager will contact a reader to check for availability. Once a writer and reader are paired, an introductory email will be sent to both individuals.
- The readers must trust writers who use their services to represent their communities with authenticity.
- If a writer has further questions or any issues, please contact the manager
If you are interested in finding a sensitivity reader or interested in being a sensitivity, please contact me at harambeepress@gmail.com.
Important to know: SensitivityBTL welcomes all books that represent a clean worldview and retains the right to remove any content that does not abide by the “clean reads” definition. A clean read is defined as having no: explicit sexual content, profane or coarse language, or gratuitous violence. Spiritual matter and all other material should be aligned with, or not in opposition to Christian theology.