Sensitivity Reader

Originally posted: January 15, 2026

Happy New Year and all that. Next week will be what I hope is my last editorial meeting. The MS should be locked down after that!

TO JONES contains some very spicy material. In her interior life, narrator Jones has a habit of objectifying nearly everyone she comes across. I hired sensitivity reader Jewels Pedersen to give me feedback on a certain character, a woman of color, who appears in two sexually charged scenes. Best money I ever spent. And, believe me, over the years, I’ve spent A LOT on this book. Money I didn’t have. Money I’ll never get back. I did it for my art. I did it for connection. I did it because I couldn’t not do it (I tried!).

Jewels’ notes were invaluable. She brought depth to my writing. She strengthened these pivotal scenes in ways I couldn’t have.

For all my work around race, sexism, ageism, etc., etc., I remain a product of lifelong systems. No matter how well intentioned I am, these systems produce blind spots in me.

I’m thankful to have family, friends, and teachers who are open and honest with me, who share themselves so generously, who remain patient when I fuck up, and I always do. Every author would benefit from a sensitivity reader. It’s not that we’re “all racist,” or need to be “politically correct,” or pander to the “woke” audience. It’s that opening ourselves to one another makes us stronger, makes us better. And we can all stand to be better.