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Bunmi Ishola


By Margaret Lea


     Editor Bunmi Ishola will be the speaker at our online monthly meeting May 4, 2026. She will talk about “The Editor-Author Relationship.” My email interview with Bunmi is below. 


1) What is your job title/publisher?

Senior Editor, WaterBrook Children’s/Random House Children's Books

 

2) I read an online article that said you took a huge pay cut when you became an editor. What job were you doing before? Has your salary caught back up now? 

I did—went from making between $55-60K as a middle school teacher to $35K as an editorial assistant in 2018. I’ve had a few job changes and promotions that have increased my salary to a more livable wage over the years; however, I think I’d be making more if I stayed in education. Proof of how much I love my work, I guess!

 

3) What’s your favorite part of being an editor?

There is a lot to love about being an editor—the authors and teams I get to work with, the stories I get to help shape, getting a sweet discount on books! But I think the biggest thing is that I’m always learning and the work is never monotonous or stale. Each new book and author brings new wins and challenges, every story is unique in voice and talent—no two projects are ever exactly the same.  

 

4) What’s your least favorite part of being an editor? 

It’s very hard to send rejection letters, especially for projects I like but just don’t have the bandwidth to take on (or the ones the rest of the team doesn’t catch the vision for). It’s also very hard when the many relationships I have to maintain get sticky and there is any kind of tension there. People are at the core of my work, but managing all the different relationships—with authors, agents, art directors, marking and publicity—can be exhausting and draining, and not everyone understands or respects the boundaries I try to set. 

 

5) What are your top tips for unpublished authors? 

Read, read, and read some more! If you aren’t reading the kinds of books you want to write... you maybe shouldn’t be trying to write them! Also, never write to match an editor’s taste—writing is an art form, and taste is subjective. What doesn’t work for one editor might be perfect for another one. It’s more important to write what you’re passionate about and only apply feedback or critiques that matches your vision and that you truly think makes your writing better.  

 

6) What are your top tips for published authors? 

Get to know your local booksellers and librarians—visit often, volunteer, show them your support—they will show their support in return and be some of your best friends in this business. Also remember that every editor is different, so your experience with one can be vastly different than with another and it’s not fair to compare or pit their styles against each other. It’s okay to share what your preferred working norms are, advocate for what’s important to you, etc. but make sure to also leave room for your editors to show up as their full selves too.  



 

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