>>3244606'Editorial illustration' is a type of job, not a style of artwork.
The 'more minimalist' style you and OP are describing definitely works well for that industry, but it has applications across a whole bunch of different types of illustration jobs. Prioritizing story telling or an idea is not a requirement of this type of work, as those things can also be true in more highly-rendered styles found in fantasy / sci-fi illustration (for example).
I found a lot more career success when I simplified down my style, because this type of work is just so incredibly versatile and useful to so many different types of jobs. After reflecting on why, I think it comes down to two main things:
1. Limited color palette - learning to use less and less colors (like 3-4) will make your work seem a lot more graphic & simplified. This makes the work easier read, and also easier to incorporate into a larger product, which businesses often have to do.
2. Edges - if there's one thing that I think is a common thread across all sorts of this type of work, is that there are often no soft edges (something which you'll often find in more digital painting type of work). Linework or shapes with hard edges are extremely prevalent, while soft gradients less so. I think this has more to do with what makes work appeared 'finished', as once you lay down a hard edge, it's always done, but when you have to render something out and incorporate softer edges - at what point is it finished?
I think both of these things contribute greatly to why this type of work is so appealing and marketable.
