Cultural Accuracy & Sensitivity Editorial Services

No. Censorship is when a government or other authority with legal power stops someone from speaking. If a publisher chooses not to distribute a book, that is a business choice. Our cultural accuracy editors do not decide what reaches bookstores or libraries. They simply read your manuscript, point out areas that might cause unintentional harm, and suggest ways to handle them. You always keep the final say on what stays in your work.

These words describe groups whose voices have been pushed to the edges rather than centered. In most English-speaking settings, “marginalized” usually refers to people who are not white, people who are not straight, people who are not cisgender, people with disabilities, immigrants or refugees, and people whose faith traditions differ from the majority. These communities often face exclusion, stereotyping, or misunderstanding. Our editors keep that history in mind as they read your manuscript.

Yes. Whether it is called sensitivity reading, targeted expert reading, authenticity reading, or cultural accuracy editing, it all boils down to the same work—checking a manuscript for bias, unintentional harm, or misleading portrayals. We use the phrase “cultural accuracy editing” to highlight how thorough and professional our approach is. It is about getting the details right, not just checking off feelings.

Our editors will note when statements seem off or lack context, and they may suggest ways to verify them, but this is not a stand-alone fact check. If you are working on something that demands rigorous verification, such as a textbook or a detailed report, you should still bring in a dedicated fact checker. Our focus is on the accuracy of culture and lived experience rather than purely factual data.

No one person can represent every individual’s experience, of course. Still, someone who comes from a particular background will catch nuances that an outsider might miss. Our cultural accuracy editors combine personal experience with professional training—many have roles as scholars, critics, teachers, or researchers—so they can approach your manuscript both as someone with lived insight and as a careful reader who knows the broader context.

Being offended and being harmed are two different things. Communities that have been marginalized have faced real-world exclusion, discrimination, and misrepresentation over many generations. That is real harm, not just a matter of individual feelings. Our goal is to help you spot language or images that might reinforce stereotypes or cause unintended harm. Seeking this input is an act of responsibility, much like talking with a doctor or a historian to make sure you have the right perspective on a topic. We also have editors who specialize in other sensitive subjects beyond marginalization, so you get the expert feedback you need.

Absolutely. You are free to create characters with hateful or offensive views if that serves your story. Our editors are not there to censor your creativity. What they do is help you see whether those characters are written in ways that serve a narrative purpose, rather than slipping in unexamined stereotypes. Their feedback focuses on context so your creative vision remains intact and your reader understands why a character talks or acts in a certain way.

Saying “I don’t see color” or “I see everyone the same” may sound polite, but it actually erases the real experiences people face every day. Race, gender, disability, and other identities shape how people move through the world. Ignoring those differences overlooks how society treats different groups. True awareness means recognizing those realities so you can represent them honestly and with respect.

Cultural accuracy editors are professionals taking time and drawing on years of academic, professional, and/or lived experience. They should be compensated the same way any other consultant would be paid. The $250 you are accustomed to seeing has been misquoted as a recommended flat rate when it was only ever meant as a floor for shorter works. Our fees are based on industry standards for other types of editing. A few hundred dollars for a novel-length work simply does not adequately cover the hours of work required (while all manuscripts and editors are unique, you could assume roughly 25 hours of work for a 50,000-word manuscript–at $250, that’s a paltry $10 an hour for highly skilled work!) and years of experience qualifying the editor for the work, nor CPH’s administration and quality control.