As an Editor on the Children’s and YA team, you'll acquire and develop children's, middle grade, and young adult titles while helping shape the future of one of the industry's most entrepreneurial publishing programs. If you're excited by balancing creativity with business strategy, thrive in a collaborative environment, and believe books have the power to change lives, we'd love to meet you.
This is an exempt salaried position with a range of $60,000 - $65,000. We determine starting pay based on a thorough evaluation of job-related factors, including geographic location, market conditions, relevant experience, training, and education. This process ensures a fair and competitive salary that aligns with both the company and the candidate’s qualifications.
The location for this position can be hybrid or remote in New York or Naperville, Illinois or remote based in any of the following states: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin. This role includes some travel with occasional meetings at the home office in Naperville, Illinois and includes occasional travel for industry events.
What You'll Do
- Build and manage your own publishing list across the Children’s + YA program.
- Identify, acquire, and develop commercially successful children's, middle grade, and young adult titles.
- Cultivate relationships with literary agents, authors, and publishing partners to identify new opportunities.
- Present projects at acquisitions meetings and negotiate deals with authors and agents.
- Develop manuscripts through developmental editing, positioning, and editorial guidance from acquisition through publication.
- Shape each project's market positioning, including titles, subtitles, packaging, metadata, marketing copy, and sales materials.
- Partner with Design, Production, Marketing, Publicity, Sales, and Content Delivery to successfully launch every title.
- Manage multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining exceptional quality, organization, and deadlines.
- Analyze marketplace trends and competitive titles to help inform publishing strategy and future acquisitions.
- Contribute to licensing opportunities, independent publishing partnerships, and strategic growth initiatives across the Children’s + YA program.
- 3–5+ years of publishing experience with editorial acquisitions and developmental editing experience.
- A passion for discovering new talent and building successful publishing programs.
- Strong editorial instincts and the ability to shape manuscripts for both readers and the marketplace.
- Experience managing multiple publishing projects from acquisition through publication.
- Outstanding communication, relationship-building, and negotiation skills.
- A commercial mindset paired with strong creative judgment.
- An entrepreneurial spirit—you enjoy taking ownership, solving problems, and helping build something bigger than yourself.
- A collaborative approach and excitement for working across departments.
- A genuine love of children's and young adult books.
Please submit your resume, portfolio, salary requirements, and cover letter detailing your relevant experience and interest in this role. Applications without a cover letter and portfolio will not be considered.
Show us your passion and creativity — we’re looking for someone who’s as enthusiastic about this opportunity as we are!
Full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program. Our range of benefits include, but are not limited to, Medical/Prescription drug insurance, Dental, Vision, Health Care, Dependent Care, Flexible Spending Account, Health Savings Account 401(k), Short and Long-Term Disability Insurance, Life/AD&D Insurance, & generous paid time off.
Sourcebooks values the array of talents and perspectives that a diverse workforce brings. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, national origin, religion, age, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.
Skills Required
- 3-5+ years of publishing experience with editorial acquisitions and developmental editing experience
- Experience managing multiple publishing projects from acquisition through publication
- Outstanding communication, relationship-building, and negotiation skills
- Strong editorial instincts and ability to shape manuscripts for readers and the marketplace
- Commercial mindset paired with strong creative judgment
- Collaborative approach and experience partnering across departments (Design, Production, Marketing, Publicity, Sales)
- Genuine love of children's and young adult books
- Entrepreneurial spirit; ability to take ownership and solve problems
- Ability to travel occasionally for home office meetings and industry events
- Submit resume, portfolio, salary requirements, and cover letter; applications without a cover letter and portfolio will not be considered
Sourcebooks Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Sourcebooks and has not been reviewed or approved by Sourcebooks.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Generous PTO, paid holidays and sick days, and a sabbatical program are highlighted, with additional closure between Christmas and New Year’s. These elements collectively indicate a wide range of time‑off options.
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Parental & Family Support — Generous parental leave includes six weeks paid for both parents that can be combined with FMLA, alongside family medical leave. This reflects structured support for caregiving needs.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision coverage are provided along with life insurance, short‑ and long‑term disability, FSAs, and mental‑health benefits. The package spans core health protections and ancillary supports.
Sourcebooks Insights
What We Do
“Sourcebooks, a legitimate contender for the title of ‘most innovative company in book publishing.’”—Mike Shatzkin, Idealog Innovators. Always looking for ways to bring new experiences to our readers, data is the backbone that gives direction to our creativity and informs our innovative spirit. Put Me In The Story, now the #1 personalized book platform in the U.S., is one of three e-commerce businesses we operate. We are committed to innovative publishing and to exploring new publishing platforms and models. Owners and Entrepreneurs. We take pride in being pioneers. Each of us is a leader invested in creating breakthrough for ourselves, our company, and readers everywhere. Starting with just one book in 1987, we now publish more than 300 new titles each year. With millions of books sold and more than 80 New York Times and USA Today bestsellers—and more—Sourcebooks publishes authors, not books. Constantly Learning. Not content to rely on yesterday’s knowledge, we know tomorrow’s opportunities can be discovered only with a passionate desire to explore new ideas. We Create Amazing. Every book and product we create and every life we touch is an opportunity to deliver the unexpected and the extraordinary. Our award-winning books earn accolades from Parenting Media Awards, YALSA Lists, Texas Bluebonnet, state awards, the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal Award, and more. Book Business Magazine named Sourcebooks 2013 Publishing Innovator of the Year. From children’s, young adult, fiction, and memoir to personalized books, inspirational gifts, reference, poetry, and beyond, we believe books change lives. It is the heart of all that we do. We are excited to work with passionate authors, booksellers, librarians, designers, media, brand partners, and others to create a vibrant future for books. FIND US ONLINE www.sourcebooks.com www.putmeinthestory.com www.simpletruths.com www.123magic.com
