Bio

Jen Howard was born in Escanaba, Michigan, and pursued a PhD in literature with a focus on literary criticism before shifting gears and setting her sights on a career as a writer, writing teacher, and editor. With an MA in English and an MFA in Fiction Writing, she teaches creative writing (both fiction and nonfiction) at Northern Michigan University. She is the editor-in-chief of Passages North, and her own stories and essays have been published in Crab Orchard Review, Blue Mesa Review, Redivider, Sycamore Review, Smokelong Quarterly, Southeast Review, Quarterly Review, wigleaf, Literary Mama, Harpur Palate, and elsewhere, as well as the anthologies Flash Fiction Forward and Cup of Comfort for Mothers.

Jen did her undergrad with the Jesuits at University of Detroit, majoring in the unusual combination of English and mathematics. Her favorite authors are Grace Paley, Margaret Atwood, and Elizabeth McCracken. In the car, however, she prefers to listen to mysteries and thrillers. She likes working on many genres and categories of fiction and nonfiction and especially enjoys editing literary fiction, young adult fiction, and short stories.

In her own words:
In my day job, I'm a college professor, so I love services like the evaluation and the annotation that address not only what's not working, but why it's not working, and how to make it better. I of course enjoy working with authors who already have experience and talent, and who just need an objective eye to get their manuscript to the next level, but I also like new writers, writers whose enthusiasm perhaps exceeds their skills early on. When those writers really put in the time and the effort, and when they embrace the writer's most useful skill – to delete – they make great progress. Working long-term with authors, I've seen manuscripts grow from genuine but loveable messes into polished novels I'm proud to see authors send out. That feels good, especially given I can be a part of the whole process from my tiny house on the woods in the U.S.'s second-snowiest city. I really don't think I could handle the heat down at HQ.

Preferred Genres

Absolute favorite genre: Literary fiction

Preferred fiction genres: Crime, mystery, detective, horror, techno-thriller, legal thriller, forensic, medical or scientific thriller, psychological thriller, young adult (teens and up), humor, satire, literary fiction, mainstream fiction

Other fiction genres Jen enjoys working on: science fiction, fantasy, erotica, historical, biographical fiction, middle grade (teens and up), multi-cultural, women's fiction, gay/lesbian fiction

Genres Jen prefers not to work on: action-adventure, military thrillers, conspiracy thrillers, nautical fiction, western/frontier, Christian/inspirational, children's (picture books)

Absolute favorite nonfiction category: creative nonfiction

Other areas of interest in nonfiction: narrative, creative, autobiography, memoir, crime/criminals, education, entertainment, gay/lesbian, health/mind/body, history, outdoors/nature, parenting/families, professional/technical, reference, social sciences, sports, travel, true accounts, women's studies

Testimonials

Services represented include: Manuscript evaluation, manuscript annotation

"I feel like its been very positive, especially when I read through my earliest drafts. Jen Howard and Catherine had to sift through a lot of muck and yet their reports were so positive and helpful. I look forward to working with Jen in the future. She has instilled the mentality in me that I can't just pick up a pen and wing it. There are no shortcuts to writing a novel. Basically, I feel like I've learned more than I can put into words. Thank you."

Jeff Regan
Camden, IN

"Jen Howard returned my evaluation before its due date. She was honest and helpful. I will take her advice as I re-write my current and future novels."

Holly Pridemore
Las Vegas, NV

"Your level of service exceeded my expectations. Jen Howard was a pleasure to work with. Her evaluation was honest, hopeful and her direction brought my writing to a whole new level. I appreciate everything TED has done for me and I'm grateful for all your help!"

Marni Mann
Bradenton, FL

"I really didn't know what to expect when I submitted a sample of my work for the $35 Critique. I was so pleasantly surprised by the feedback, that I submitted my work for the Manuscript Evaluation. After reading the evaluation it was clear to me that I was much too close to my manuscript to ferret out the remaining weaknesses. I recommend this service to any writer who wants a balanced, constructive appraisal of his or her work."

Mark Davis

Columbus, OH

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Submissions

Interested in working with Jen? Please visit our editor availability inquiry center.