AGONY EDITOR
Dear Agony Editor, I have a novel coming out in early 2020. In the copyediting process with my publisher, a word was flagged in a bit of dialogue. Reason being? It might be considered offensive to some people. My book is set in the ’80s and, like it or not, the word is authentic to how my character would’ve spoken. I don’t want to self-censor in the name of potentially offending a stranger. My publisher says it’s my call but I’m second-guessing myself. What should I do? Signed, To Offend or Not to Offend
Dear Offend, Authors die but their books live on. Or so we like to think.