iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

One of the highlights of my publishing career was visiting the New Directions office & going to the First Editions room where it was like, nbd we only pubbed THE most influential poetry of the 20th cent that's just a casual William Carlos Williams over there. Anyway this is my souvenir copy of NOX 🖤

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Your review should just say "this work is Adequate" and link to your book

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

In honor of @buchmesse.de this is your annual reminder that Sandra Bullock HAD to go to #Frankfurt book fair so as not to lose DeLillo to Viking thus setting off the chain of events that was the movie THE PROPOSAL which shall ever remain a publishing rom com classic ty for coming to my Ted talk

Screenshots from the movie The Proposal with dialogue text that say:

Boss: And...you went to Frankfurt

Sandra Bullock: Yes I did. We were going to lose DeLillo to Viking.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Authors: sign up for this! It's SO important to understand your book contract. (Yes, even for scholarly monographs where the stakes tend to be low; you should always know what you're signing)

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Reposted by Michelle Chen

Dawn Durante @dawnd.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This #BannedBooksWeek, #FeedingTheElephant acknowledges resources to #LetBooksBe as well as efforts to preserve and protect the larger data and information landscape, including ways to volunteer. networks.h-net.org/group/discus...

networks.h-net.org

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The irony is that tech bros absolutely care about IP (what would tech be if you couldn't trademark or license software) but they somehow don't think that books count? Make it make sense.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This is because (paraphrased from an old boss) while our end product is books, the publishing *business* is actually safeguarding and upholding the concept of Intellectual Property. Which, spoiler alert: we want!

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Oh hey it's 👻 spooky season 🎃, also known to this editor as #AFS2026 Folklorists in Asheville: editors from @uwiscpress.bsky.social & @utpress.bsky.social & I will be speaking about book publishing bright early AM on WED OCT 28. So chug a coffee & come learn ✨ all the secrets ✨ of the industry 👀

October 28th, 2026, 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM EDT

Top of The Plaza

From Manuscript to Monograph: Understanding the Academic Book Publishing Lifecycle
Forum Chair: Michelle Chen.

Forum Members: Amber Rose Cederström, Aidan Watson-Morris.

How does an idea become a book? What makes a successful book proposal, and, in turn, what authorial practices make for a successful book? Via a roundtable conversation geared specifically to the field of folklore, acquisitions editors from participating university presses will provide a comprehensive exploration of the academic book publishing process, guiding attendees through each critical stage—from initial manuscript development to peer review, editorial board approval, and final publication. Of interest to scholars at all stages of their careers, the session will demystify the publishing process and highlight best practices for successfully navigating book publishing at academic presses.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Honestly not a terrible way to describe me in 3 bullet points tinyurl.com/ypk49y9a

Screenshot from the Amazon account page that says:

- Cooks Asian cuisine at home
- Creates beaded jewelry
- Systematically collects complete book series

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Breaking News: I have finally succumbed to the siren call of round glasses and have thus now completed my transformation into Daria

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Every author who doesn't want to seek permission for their epigraphs

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

True! I don't fault authors for having imperfect comps (as you say they're a little silly as a concept) but super unrealistic comps are so often the red flag of a proposal. Like no your book is not comparable to the Michelle Obama memoir and also Frantz Fanon's Wretched of the Earth.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Agree with this wholeheartedly. Comps are a way of showing your editor you are knowledgeable about your area and how you see your book fitting into existing discourse. Try to avoid: 1) Books that are decades old 2) Ridiculously famous books/authors 3) My book is wholly unique and nothing compares

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I mean it's very possible that I am in fact the asshole here 😂

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

My vote is also for option B but be clear that this version is wholly reworked and should be thought of as a new submission and not a resubmission. And it's well within your right to ask them not to send it back to the original reviewer given the new context (you can't MAKE them but you can ask)

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I mean I would argue that a "got it, thanks" email is unnecessary (in most but not ALL cases) and the react feature has turned what used to be limited practice into a mindless norm? But the worst offenders are people who will react to a message and then also reply to it. Hague. Immediately.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Do you realize that doing so triggers a whole new email to be sent to the recipient that just says "so and so reacted to your message"? A WHOLE NEW CURSED EMAIL.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The Outlook "React to an Email" Feature is a Crime Against Humanity: discuss

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

My strategy so far has been to chaotically select things I recognize until I reach a certain dollar amount, which incidentally might be "a collection of boring shit"

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Normal person getting a link to a baby shower registry: what a lovely array of items from which I can curate a thoughtful selection of gifts. Me: **panics in childlessness** Oh wait is that a sippy cup? I know what a sippy cup is. I'll buy 25 of those that's normal right?

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I was going to say, sometimes the best plan is to just lean in

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

strength training 💪 aka reorganizing and reshelving my Norton literary anthologies

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Commercial publishing is intense! Come over to the university press side next time 😈

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If your chapter sources are properly formatted in notes I think you can get away without a bibliography. Plus the publisher probably won't want to pay for the extra pages 😆

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

BRB I'm gonna go mispronounce "Einstürzende Neubauten" in a room full of white men just to feel something

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

don't even get me started on afterwords

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

"But they're letting me keep exclusive rights and offering a 51% royalty rate" No. This is a scam. Run away.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Currently looking over an absolutely *insane* predatory publishing agreement for a friend of a friend and I am once again here to remind you: Do 👏 Not 👏 Pay 👏 To 👏 Publish

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

As a millennial who has watched Amélie at least 20 times this was a targeted attack

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Have fun! I've always wanted to go to Frankfurt. It seems so glamorous from the outside, but I'm sure the reality is exhausting.

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Well this sucks but hey look, here's a neat little collection of indie publishers you can still explore/support regardless of weather. Some personal faves: @graywolfpress.bsky.social @versobooks.bsky.social New Directions @europaeditions.bsky.social

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

As a former barista I cosign this message

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I would never bring an iced coffee to an interview and betray the fact that I am a true corporeal being with bodily needs rather than some sort of highly efficient spirit-wraith but that's just me

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Reposted by Michelle Chen

UPColorado @upcolorado.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Happy Friday to everyone except people who do this #booksky #justiceforbookspines #bookshelf

And image of someone placing books on a bookshelf with the spine facing inwards

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

dominate and derail every conversation by expounding on obscure poststructuralist theories (aka be That White Dude in every undergraduate philosophy class) hold my Barthes

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My indie bookstore website is making me do MATH to achieve my objectives like what is this the GREs? (jokes aside, nothing but love for @greenlightbklyn.bsky.social)

A captcha quiz asking a math question what is 3+11

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Oh no that's one of the pocket universes where the vibes are still bad 💼 👔

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Come on back girl the vibes are good here in Mamdanistan

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Guys Mamdani broke the Met website

Delay message in entering the MET website

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Me: Can I put on some music? Friend: Sure Me: It goes kind of hard though. Friend: Ok...? Me: *proceeds to put on 2 hours of Gregorian chants*

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Michelle Chen @michellechn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Ok hear me out: if you're going on a long trip, you sometimes want to pack full-sized toiletries, yes? *this message was paid for by the anti tiny-toothpaste lobby

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