Traditional publishing standards. Future-focused vision. Human-first values. 

Do you love supporting mission-driven authors almost as much as you love developing life-enhancing books? Dream of building a list of wildly successful nonfiction titles? Long to lead an editorial team of passionate and talented humans who are actually happy at work?

You just might find your next home here at Wonderwell as our Editorial Director.

Proudly future-focused, we believe there’s never been a better time to work in publishing—at least for those who want to flip the industry on its head and create new ways to make publishing more rewarding for authors.

Yep, I’m talking about you. That’s right, I see you.

You’re talented, ambitious, and ready to step into a senior leadership role at a small and growing company with an exciting vision for the future of publishing. Maybe you’re feeling frustrated with the lack of advancement opportunities in your current role at a Big Five publisher, or disenchanted with their bureaucracy or company values. (Been there.) 

From your impressive track record acquiring and developing commercially successful adult trade nonfiction books, it’s clear that you have exceptionally strong conceptual, editing, and writing skills. That matters a lot to us.

What matters even more is the way you have with people. Authors trust you for your curious mind and generous heart. Staff and freelancers respect you for your diplomatic and decisive leadership. And executives count on your sound judgment, and the steady and confident hand with which you steer your department.

At Wonderwell, you will manage, lead, and provide creative guidance to our senior editors and designers, and personally acquire and edit about eight titles per year in our key categories of business, health and wellness, personal growth, inspiration, and memoir. With your keen eye for talent and your ability to win authors over, you’ll play a pivotal role in building our reputation as the hybrid publisher of choice for thought leaders, influencers, activists, and artists.

Accountabilities and Activities 

In your role as Editorial Director for Wonderwell, you will…

Lead and manage our Editorial department:

• Set and maintain departmental policies.
• Hire, supervise, and manage contractors and staff; set and monitor staff KPIs.
• Contribute to leadership team meetings.
• Provide creative feedback and guidance to editors and designers.
• Monitor and continually improve workflows and processes for consistency and efficiency.

Acquire, develop, and edit successful adult nonfiction titles:

• Maintain an up-to-date awareness of reader trends and timely topics.
• Continually seek out personalities with strong author potential, including celebrities and influencers; engage with prospective authors, prepare publishing proposals, and sign them to our program.
• Develop marketable book concepts and outlines in collaboration with authors.
• Create book P&Ls and budgets.
• Coach certain authors while they write; rewrite or ghostwrite as necessary.
• Perform developmental or substantive edits on about eight titles per year.
• Work with art directors / designers on book cover concepting and execution.
• Provide draft jacket copy to marketing team, provide input on the development of marketing materials.
• Lead editorial meetings.
• Evaluate select submissions and write reports for publisher’s consideration.
• With Publisher, present our titles at sales conference, standing in for Publisher as required.

This is a full-time, exempt, salaried W2 position. You will work largely from home with occasional travel. You must be legally entitled to work in the United States, and California residence is a plus.

The Benefits of Working at Wonderwell

We value work-life balance with flexible hours, time off for all federal holidays, and generous vacation packages. All our full-time employees are eligible for our comprehensive benefits program, including health and dental insurance and 401(k) contributions.

Get to Know Us

Wonderwell is a values-led, boutique hybrid publishing company that develops and publishes award-winning nonfiction books that help, heal, and inspire. Founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2013 (then known as LifeTree Media), we recently relocated to Los Angeles and relaunched as Wonderwell in 2020. 

We are a woman-owned, LGBTQ-friendly organization, and an equal-opportunity employer. In our publishing program and work environment, we champion diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our mission is to make life more rewarding for authors and readers.

Our company was founded on the principle that every human being has an essential contribution to make, and that our most significant contributions are intimately tied to our personal satisfaction in life. In other words, we can all make the world a bit of a better place just by being in the right job. If you’re deeply experienced in (but disenchanted by) traditional publishing, and you want to get in on the ground at an innovative small company with a big vision for future growth, we want to hear from you!

Join Us

If this sounds like what you’ve been looking for, we invite you to apply to join our team by completing the application form at the link below. We are not accepting applications by phone, email, or LinkedIn. (Note: If you have a Google account, you will be prompted to log in before completing the form.)