Kate Egan - The Outlook for Children's Publishing 2023

Kate Egan began her career at Scholastic, then veered into the freelance lane when she moved with her family to Maine. As a freelance editor, she worked with authors from Cynthia Lord to Suzanne Collins, and launched a YA imprint, KCP Loft, for Kids Can Press. Now she is an executive editor at Pixel + Ink Books, specializing in IP publishing. Kate is also the author of many books, including the Magic Shop series and Golden Ticket, a middle grade novel. 

Panelist moderator, Martha Brockenbrough, starts by asking the panel why they choice editing book for kids. Kate notes that for her it's not just a business, it's a mission.  The sense of mission in work really appealed to her in children's books. 

Kate went to a high school with a robust tutoring system and as junior or senior it was real honor to be tapped by a mentor teacher to be a writing tutor. When Kate was tapped, her mentor teacher shared that you don't want to tell the student that the work is bad but that her role was to ask questions so that the writer could come to the improvement of the the writing on their own. The teacher underscored the importance of caring for the young writer. Kate felt she was truly helping and loved the experience. She didn't know being an editor was a job early on, but when she did, she knew editing was for her. 

When asked three words that described their taste, Kate shares: accessible, friendly, approachable and she adds a fourth - humor.

Martha moves onto talking about the process and wondering if it's changed at all in the last few years. This opens up a great conversation between the panelists about auctions, with a clear note that while the money is great, it doesn't mean you get the best editor for your book. 

What stands out to these panelists? Kate says it's often emotional connection, work that moves you. 

A way that the pandemic has changed publishing is that much of the publishing staff is working remotely. An editor can be anywhere now and be part of the process. It's opening door for a more people to become editors, allowing folks to come in from many places and backgrounds.