Conscious and Inclusive Editing: Understanding Conscious Language and the Editorial Role

with Crystal Shelley

When: Saturday, March 12 and March 19, 10:00 am to 11:30 am PST

Where: Online via Zoom

Words have the power to do good: to uplift, to inspire, and to validate. Words also have the power to do harm: to hurt, to marginalize, and to erase. As editors, we can assess writing for biased or excluding language that can render the text ineffective or harmful to readers, and we can educate clients on how and why the language they choose matters.

This workshop will help professional editors

• Know what inclusive language and conscious language are
• Identify potential issues in language, tone, and framing
• Recognize what questions to ask about the writing
• Understand the editorial role and why we should speak up
• Craft queries and feedback to clients
• Handle client resistance
• Learn what resources exist that discuss language issues

Crystal Shelley (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker and the owner of Rabbit with a Red Pen, where she provides editing and authenticity reading services to fiction authors. She unites her love of language and her passion for social justice by advocating conscious language use and inclusive representation in her editorial work. She is the creator of the Conscious Language Toolkits for Editors and Writers and serves on the Executive Committee of ACES: The Society for Editing.