Melissa Vera is a Pre-K teacher. She loves reading, watching tv, and spending time with her dogs and cats. She loves helping others learn about diverse identities outside of their own experiences. She also loves being able to work alongside well intentioned writers to create authentic and exciting stories. She loves being able to be a supporter and cheerleader in this often scary process. Writers are inherently brave for doing the work they do, and she likes to recognize that!

As a queer, disabled, woman of color, she loves reading stories that reflect those identities, though she loves learning about different voices and experiences through literature. She has experience with Spanish to English code switching in texts.

She’s a HUGE fan of romance novels, especially when its characters are queer, disabled, and people of color!

  Sensitivity / Expert

  • Latine (Chicane and/or Mexican American)
  • 2nd Generation American
  • Conservative Christianity
  • Religious Disaffiliation
  • Queer, Gay, Bisexual
  • Demisexuality
  • OCD
  • ADHD
  • Major Depressive Disorder
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
  • ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
  • Binge Eating Disorder
  • Disordered Eating
  • Eating Disorder Partial Hospitalization
  • English/Spanish Code-switching
  • Interracial Relationships
  • Racism and Microaggressions
  • Familial Homophobia
  • Familial Estrangement
  • Parent with Borderline Personality Disorder
  • US/Mexico Border Culture
  • ABA Therapy
  • Locations: Ohio, Boston, San Francisco, Texas, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico

 Preferred Genres

Queer  Chicanx Fiction  Romance  Romcom  YA  non-fiction 

 Avoided Genres

None!


What Clients Say

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Melissa’s advice was wonderful and extremely kind. I felt like she was really rooting for me to grow as an author, rather than criticizing or judging, and the advice I received was spot on!

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I live in and wanted to write about a diverse culture, but I was concerned that despite reading and research, I wouldn’t portray others accurately or sensitively. I knew I needed sensitivity readers, but I expected the experience to be like a Twitter bashing (that I had to pay for). But Melissa was encouraging, praising me for what I got right and making helpful but gentle suggestions for what could be better. I felt like she was on my team to make my book the best it could be, and she gave me the confidence to go forward. I look forward to working with her again.



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