Why I edit (and why children’s books)

I was talking to someone in the publishing industry recently about why I do what I do. I told him I want to help authors build their careers (that is, to make money!), and I want to help publishers build their businesses. It’s all completely true. However, it isn’t why I initially started editing and certainly not why I started my freelance business.

I first considered a career as an editor, rather than as a writer, in college when I was working with younger writers, reporters on our newspaper staff. Helping writers improve their prose felt natural to me, and watching them grow felt great! I started focusing on kids book a little while after college when I was tutoring a young reader. Working with that student got me really invested in there being good books for kids like him. The more kids I worked with and the more books I read, the more I cared. And the more work I did with kids or writers or books, the more I enjoyed it. By the time I was ready to focus on building a career, helping authors create excellent books for kids was pretty much my reason for breathing.

One of the reasons I include comparable titles in almost all of my editorial letters is to help authors understand their market and where they can fit in it…and how to exploit it. Any good business person knows their market and their competition, right? I also expect them to be used as mentor texts—writing to be used as teaching tools, that can show writers how various aspects of storytelling are done by successful authors, techniques we can all mimic to improve our own stories. And also as a reminder of what readers are used to and expect from their books.

I want writers to put out the best possible work because I want them to build successful careers, as I said. I also want kids to have great books to read. I aim to ensure that child readers feel supported by, encouraged by, enhanced by their books. I want all kids from all backgrounds and with all different life experiences to see themselves as heroes, to see themselves as capable of great things and of love, to see themselves as lovable. I want all kids to be able to find just the right book at just the right time, whether that’s a book that teaches them something new, or transports them to a world of magic and adventure, or allows them to grow emotionally and feel comfortable in their own skin.

I know all of that sounds pretty idealistic. I admit I’m an idealist. I’m okay with having oversized dreams about what’s possible in literature for kids. And with the kind of writing my clients can produce. I think I have to have this idealistic outlook to be the best possible support to my clients. I believe you can create wondrous, action-packed, thought-provoking literature for kids. And I love being along on the journey while you do it. It’s why I do what I do.

Happy writing!