Culturally Sensitive Publishing Strategy

Breathe new life into your catalog with the help of experts in cultural sensitivity

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Whether you’re an author whose rights recently reverted, an agent in charge of managing a literary estate, or a publisher looking to reinvigorate your catalog, you may have questions about how to:
  • manage a backlist that may span decades in order to maximize sales
  • attract new fans and re-engage old ones
  • join today’s cultural conversation…while not ruffling feathers or inadvertently starting a scandal.
Culturally Sensitive Publishing Strategy for Backlist

Overall, how do you manage the integrity of older text against hindsight, changing social morés, and the evolution of language?

What you need is editorial support from someone who both respects the sanctity of a beloved text and understands the needs and concerns of contemporary readers and the broader contemporary literary culture. Yes, books are products of their time, but there is always room for editorial guidance and improvement, and not at the expense of an author’s original voice and intent, either. Whether it’s lightly updating some language, rethinking a cover, or writing a foreword to contextualize a text, updates to a backlist can and should be done with thoughtful consideration about the impact the original text had in the past and could have on new readers in the future.

Unfortunately, there are also misguided ways to go about doing this–for example, replacing slurs with infantilizing euphemisms can turn a book into the butt of a joke while harming marginalized people as much as the original slurs did.

Our pool of Cultural Accuracy & Sensitivity Editors and Consultants include professionals with deep knowledge of literary history, awareness of current and upcoming trends and cultural shifts, and, of course, expertise in various marginalized identities and experiences. We don’t just Find + Replace With Political Correctness–when you bring your backlist to us, we offer you targeted, specific advice and guidance on everything from editorial to marketing positioning to new covers unique to your backlist and stakeholders.

Contact us today to discuss your needs and we can put together a custom package of services for an author backlist refresh, series reissue, or redesign.

Partnering with Hannah and the KAA team has been a consistently positive experience. Their team’s exceptional attention to detail and commitment to cultural accuracy is commendable. KAA’s sensitivity editors are not only thorough but also incredibly perceptive and the value they’ve added extends beyond the pages, fostering a deeper understanding and respect for diverse narratives and for authors writing outside of their lived experience. I strongly endorse their services to any writer seeking to enhance their manuscript with conscientious and respectful representation.

Carrie Bloxson, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Hachette Book Group

It has been a pleasure working with Kevin Anderson and his team of talented writers and editors–I highly recommend them. Having collaborated together on over a dozen manuscripts since 2015, including the original Five Nights at Freddy’s series, I can attest to their responsiveness, dedication to excellence, and commitment to keeping their clients happy…

Scott Cawthon

New York Times #1 bestselling author of Five Nights at Freddy’s–over 1 million copies sold

It was an absolute pleasure getting to work with Kevin Anderson and his team. We reached out to them for an authenticity read and the reader we were paired with was thorough, highly attentive, and had an excellent grasp of the subject matter at hand. We’re extremely grateful to the KAA team for their professionalism and resourcefulness, and highly recommend their services.

Thea Diklich-Newell

Hachette Book Group

Why Choose
Kevin Anderson & Associates?

Work With Bestselling Writers

One-Stop Access to Multiple Editors

Instead of you spending hours seeking out hundreds of experts in different subject areas, KAA gives you one-stop access to a large pool of editors and consultants who are leaders and experts in their fields, while you’ll still only have one vendor to pay.

Real-World Experts, Actionable Advice

In addition to experienced editors and writers, our pool of experts also includes academics, historians, military veterans, librarians, artists, performers, and other practitioners, so you can be sure you’re getting real-world perspectives. And because our process includes training and oversight from a KAA Senior Editor, you can be sure you’re getting advice that is truly actionable in the publishing world.

Our offices are in New York, Nashville, and Los Angeles.
Can’t get to us? We can bring our team to you.