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Sage College DEI - Radical Copyeditor

From the Editor's Desk page

Cozy Up with the Radical Copyeditor

My Go-to Spot When I Have Questions about Language Use 

By Anna Villarruel, Acquisitions Editor 
November 2022

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This month, I want to turn the spotlight on two fantastic webinars that were organized by Corwin (a division of Sage providing professional development resources to K–12 educators).

In 2021, Corwin invited queer educator and organizer Alex Kapitan to run a presentation titled “Liberatory Language Practices: Inclusive Language and the Powers of Words.” Alex (they/them) is a trainer, speaker, consultant, editor, and activist who left the world of nonfiction book publishing to start Radical Copyeditor, an anti-oppressive language project. This is often my go-to spot when I have questions about language use—their site showcases useful flowcharts, an accessible writing style, and a “no-nonsense” approach that gets to the heart of the matter.

The session and recording received tremendous support, so Alex was invited back in 2022 to talk our editorial teams through preparing for what can be sensitive conversations with our authors.

Here are three reasons why I found the presentations valuable:  

  1. Quickly answered why we want to focus on inclusive language. It’s not about taking steps to avoid offending people or finding the “right” word, but to avoid causing harm and perpetuating systems of oppression with the words we choose. Being able to speak to this persuasively will help editors effectively communicate Sage’s DEI goals in the development process.
  2. Focused on care for all involved—readers, authors, and editors. One thing that I really appreciate about Alex is that they’ve done the work—as a copyeditor, they know what it’s like to query authors on difficult topics and how quickly everyone, including editors, can get defensive. They walked us through how to have a successful conversation with an author, with the biggest caveat being that we should define success by whether the conversation was had rather than what the outcome was. Reframing “success” ensures that all parties involved are treated with care and compassion.
  3. Alex enjoys presenting these issues and their energy was infectious! 

As part of Sage’s ongoing efforts to counter structural racism and other oppressions, it's vital that we continually expand our awareness of the power of language to be a site of harm or liberation, and how we as a publishing company can best use words for good. Inclusive language isn't about "good" and "bad" words or a simple checklist of best practices; rather, it's a holistic approach that centers care for everyone who engages with the words we put into the world.

Published 11/22. © 2022 Sage Publishing. All rights reserved. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.