Jo Knowles
Jo Knowles (she/her) writes for children, teens and adults. Her young adult novels include Lessons From A Dead Girl, Jumping Off Swings, Living With Jackie Chan, Read Between The Lines, and Pearl. Her tween and middle grade novels include See You At Harry’s, Still a Work in Progress, Where The Heart Is and Meant to Be. Her first picture book is Ear Worm! Her newest book, Someone’s Gonna End Up Crying, an illustrated middle grade, is coming soon. Jo has also published short fiction and nonfiction in various anthologies. Jo's awards include a Vermont Book Award Finalist, a New York Times Editor's Choice and Notable, American Library Association Notable, the PEN New England Children's Book Discovery Award, Bank Street College's Best Books for Children, two SCBWI Crystal Kite Awards, and YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults. Jo teaches writing at the Mountainview MFA program through Southern New Hampshire University. She is also an occasional guest instructor at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont. Find out more at: www.joknowles.com
“Jo is everything a writer could ever ask for in an editor...”
— Lydia Peelle
“With Jo’s help, I was able to uncover the beating heart of my story...”
— Cassandra Lee Shwaver
Jo’s Critique Philosophy
I’ve been teaching writing at the graduate level for over ten years. I’ve also taught numerous writing workshops to undergrads, high school and middle school students. For several years, I volunteered teaching personal essay writing to incarcerated women, and helped edit their work for a local newspaper. I love working with writers of all ages and experiences! My approach is to help writers tell the stories of their hearts, whatever that means to them. I will approach your work as a mentor would, looking for your unique strengths and helping you to use those strengths to lift up areas of your work that could use some improvement. I like to ask lots of questions to help you discover “the underneath” that drives your story and why it is important to you in the first place.
I am happy to read picture books, whole novels (middle grade, young adult, and adult), memoirs, and partial manuscripts.
Jo’s Books
Jo’s Critique Process
For full novels and memoir:
I will ask for a cover letter to accompany your submission, telling me the kind of assistance and feedback you’re looking for, as well as any questions you have and trouble areas you’d like me to pay special attention to. With those thoughts in mind, I will read your manuscript and make notes in the margins, highlighting areas that made me pause, raise a question, or say, “WOW!” I will also write a response in the form of an editorial letter highlighting what I think works well and why, as well as focus on areas that I think need more attention, with suggestions for how to begin. Often these suggestions center around improved worldbuilding (yes, even for realistic fiction and memoir), deeper character development, building emotion and tension, and pinpointing areas that would benefit from specificity. I will provide light copyediting via track changes, but I am not a professional copyeditor. I usually format my editorial letter thematically, highlighting the areas mentioned above, with my thoughts, questions and suggestions. Once you’ve had time to read and digest my feedback, you’ll have an option to follow up with a 30 minute phone call.
For short stories & essays:
My critiques follow a similar approach, though will likely require a shorter letter.
For Picture Books:
Similar to the above as far as a cover letter and my marginal notes go. I will also write an editorial letter providing my suggestions for revision, again highlighting what works well and what could use more attention.
Jo Is a Great Fit For:
Writers who enjoy written feedback and marginal notes
Picture books, middle grade, tween, young adult, and adult fiction (contemporary realistic fiction is my strength)
Memoir (middle grade, young adults or adult)
Jo Is Not a Great Fit For:
Writers who prefer oral feedback to written communication
Those seeking marketing and promotional advice
Jo’s Testimonials
Cassandra Lee Shwaver, author of The Weight of Us All:
“While working on my master’s thesis in fiction, I struggled with finding a way to balance good characterization and an active plot. With Jo’s help, I was able to uncover the beating heart of my story, as well as the deepest thoughts and fears of the characters struggling within it. Jo isn’t afraid to ask you the tough questions, to force you to really get your hands dirty and understand what makes your story work, and what’s holding it back. Her encouragement and enthusiasm for the written word is contagious and makes you fall in love with writing all over again. I highly recommend her to anybody who is losing confidence in their abilities. I can guarantee she’ll help you find it again.”
Meg Plaisted, author of The Oyster House:
“I would highly recommend Jo to anyone wanting constructive feedback at any stage of their writing experience. I only had the first draft of my middle grade novel completed when we first started working together. She helped me identify and solve big picture issues in my manuscript—POV, pacing, character arc and more. She used examples from her own extensive writing career as encouragement. She helped me breathe new life into my work-in-progress by asking questions that made me grow as a writer and think about my story in a new light. If my novel ever gets published, it will be due in large part to her professional expertise and generous spirit.”
Lydia Peelle, Whiting Award-winning author of The Midnight Cool and Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing:
“Jo is everything a writer could ever ask for in an editor. She is wise and incredibly insightful, with a practiced eye for what works and a unique ability to see and understand a writer's ultimate goals. She was the person I knew I could trust with the first draft of my memoir, and she got to the heart of my story immediately, identifying themes and threads that I had not even known were there, then giving precise suggestions for how to hone and shape the book. Above all, she delivers her feedback with incredible compassion and respect. I am so fortunate that I was able to work with Jo - my book would have never gotten off the ground without her!”
Ten Books to Get to Know Jo
