Hi all!

We’ve been working on an update to our beta profiles and beta search to include sensitivity readers.

If the term is new to you, a sensitivity reader is a specialized type of beta reader who holds a lived experience or marginalized identity that the author does not, but that the author intends to portray within their fic.

Sensitivity readers can help authors write in ways that are more authentic and representative of the experiences of others. With that in mind, we’ve added a section to the beta profile that allows members to opt in as a sensitivity reader and indicate the kinds of topics and themes they can help review. We’ve revised our guidelines on working with beta readers. Among other changes, the guidelines now specifically feature tips on working with sensitivity readers, including when you might want to reach out to one.

A number of pages have changed to support this. First up is the Edit Beta and Sensitivity Reader Profile, which you can find in Account Info. You can opt in or out of beta reading and sensitivity reading here.

Unlike our beta strengths section, we have included a text box for sensitivity reading strengths, since there are a range of topics that someone might be suited to sensitivity read for, and all of them require nuanced discussion.

These beta profiles are available on our Betas page (see the menu for the link; it’s under “Members” on mobile).

You can browse all of the profiles from here, or you can search for a beta or sensitivity reader who is currently accepting new stories through our Beta and Sensitivity Reader Search. (We're currently working out a few kinks with search, so please let us know if you have any issues with it!)

This will let you find the beta and sensitivity readers best suited to help you.

We’d like to thank Dynamite for suggesting this addition to the site, which we feel will help our writers, as well as trevino, who was instrumental in helping us craft a definition for sensitivity readers and in revising the guidelines.