Managing Editor - Custom & Proprietary

Sourcebooks•Naperville, IL

7d•$70,000 - $75,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Sourcebooks is seeking a highly collaborative and intellectually curious Managing Editor to oversee scheduling and coordination across Custom and Proprietary titles. This role sits at the center of Editorial, Marketing, Sales, Design, and Manufacturing—building realistic project plans, keeping teams aligned, surfacing risks early, and helping complex projects move forward with clarity and momentum. The right person will bring more than strong project management. They will ask why a process works the way it does, challenge assumptions before they become constraints, and use data, curiosity, and cross-functional partnership to improve how the work gets done. This is an ideal opportunity for someone who thrives in a fast-paced publishing environment and enjoys turning ambiguity into thoughtful, executable plans. 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 DC., and Wisconsin.

Requirements

7+ years of experience in editorial production, managing editorial, or project management within publishing.
Demonstrated success managing complex schedules across multiple teams, projects, or imprints in a deadline-driven environment.
Strong problem-solving and analytical skills, paired with the intellectual curiosity to question the problem itself—not just solve the most immediate symptom.
Expertise with project management platforms such as Smartsheet, Filemaker, or Basecamp
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a strong sense of clarity, transparency, and stakeholder awareness.
Agility and adaptability when priorities shift, timelines change, or project requirements evolve.
Strong organizational skills and comfort using data to support decision-making and continuous improvement.
A collaborative working style and the ability to build genuine partnership across teams.
Comfort with ambiguity and a habit of asking the questions that help teams surface risks, assumptions, and better paths forward.

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Agile project management methodologies is preferred.

Responsibilities

Take ownership of schedule creation and entry for Custom/Proprietary projects, building realistic timelines from title testing through final delivery.
Partner with the Custom Sales Publisher, Marketing, Sales, Design, Editorial, and Manufacturing to define project scope, dependencies, milestones, and production needs.
Act as a primary cross-functional liaison, keeping stakeholders aligned on schedules, priorities, risks, and business goals.
Use Smartsheet to map publishing seasons, track key manuscript and final-production milestones, and monitor schedule adherence in real time.
Coordinate closely with Manufacturing to ensure adequate production time for all versions and imprints and protect on-sale dates.
Bring a questioning mindset to project scoping by challenging assumptions about timelines, dependencies, and scope before they create downstream problems.
Communicate deadlines, schedule changes, and risks clearly and proactively, and convene the right stakeholders when issues need resolution.
Ensure project specifications and key data are accurate and consistently maintained across tracking systems.
Track metrics across Editorial, Design, Production, and Manufacturing, identifying patterns, bottlenecks, and opportunities for stronger execution.
Continuously evaluate workflows and recommend or implement improvements that increase scheduling accuracy, efficiency, quality control, and cross-departmental coordination.
Explore publishing best practices, emerging tools, and adjacent workflows to bring fresh thinking into established processes.