About me
Leila Sales is the editor of award-winning and bestselling fiction and nonfiction books published by Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, HarperCollins, Chronicle, Abrams, and other major publishers.
Authors Leila has worked with include award-winning actors Viola Davis and Bob Balaban; New York Times bestselling authors Gayle Forman, Max Brallier, and Ame Dyckman; National Book Award Finalist Elizabeth Partridge; MacArthur Fellow Xu Bing; and many more.
Additionally, Leila is herself the author of eight critically acclaimed novels for children and young adults, including This Song Will Save Your Life (Macmillan) and, most recently, The Museum of Lost and Found (Abrams).
Leila has spoken extensively about books, writing, and publishing at BookExpo America, the American Library Association Annual Conference, the Texas Library Association Annual Conference, the Brooklyn Book Festival, the Texas Book Festival, the LA Times Festival of Books, the New York City Teen Author Festival, the Writers League of Texas, the Writing Barn, the Illustration Department, and at many bookstores, libraries, schools, and chapters of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
EXPERIENCE
* 10+ years as an acquiring editor at Penguin Random House
* Author of eight children’s and young adult novels published by Abrams, Chronicle, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster
* Founder of the Book Engineer, an editorial consultancy developing and editing books for publishers and brands
* Director of Publishing for Togethxr, one of the foremost women’s sports and media brands
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
* Structuring a novel
* Crafting a query letter
* Writing a book proposal
* Finding an agent
* Revision strategies
* Understanding publishing contracts
* Developing a book marketing and publicity plan
* Building a career in book publishing
* General publishing insider information