iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Michelle Witte

To creatives thinking of trying out the new Tweet platform: make sure you read through the Terms of Service carefully. User content may be used to train AI and machine-learning models. For those who missed it: www.engadget.com/2251699/new-...

A screenshot of a terms of service excerpt with a section highlighted in blue that reads: "Tweet may also use User Content and related information to develop, train, test, evaluate, and improve artificial intelligence and machine-learning models, algorithms, content-moderation tools, recommendation systems, safety systems, and other data-driven technologies used by or for Tweet." The unhighlighted text immediately following states: "Tweet may engage service providers to assist with these activities, subject to appropriate contractual restrictions and the Privacy Policy."

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 7h

I know it’s early, but many pitches I’m seeing in #dvpit don’t include the plot. I’ll come back later, but just as an fyi, I personally don’t ❤️ any pitch that doesn’t mention the plot, or that is only (or even mostly) tropes and vibes. If I don’t know what the plot & stakes are, I’ll scroll past.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 7h

I’ll be perusing #DVpit today throughout the day but mostly later in the afternoon. If I like your pitch, submit your query and 10 pages using this link: querytracker.net/query/michel.... I’m mostly looking for projects by POC creators this time for any genre in MG & YA, and cozy SF/F in NA & adult.

querytracker.net

Query Michelle Witte at Mansion Street Literary Management

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 19h

I'm starting to fade, so that's it for me critiquing pitches tonight. But I wish you all the best of luck! I have a busy morning but will stop by #dvpit in the afternoon/evening. Before I start liking pitches I'll post the link to my Query Manager as well as what kinds of things I'll be looking at.

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Reposted by Michelle Witte

Veronica Bartles @vbartles.com · 19h

Yes! My favorite kind of feedback is the type that says "this is what I'm taking away from what you've written here. Is that the impact you intended?" #KidLitChat

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 19h

This is exactly the point of offering a critique or feedback: to point out the issue without trying to solve it for the writer. What they'll come up with is much better than anything I can suggest, so my job is to let them know when something isn't working and even more important, why. #kidlitchat

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Reposted by Michelle Witte

Greg Pincus @gregpincus.bsky.social · 20h

Good editors or critiquers make me a better writer with their thoughts and notes. It's not that they offer solutions (usually) but they help me understand what will make something better on levels that I'm not reaching. That's what I look for. #kidlitchat

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 20h

I always tell writers that I view being an agent as their business partner. We're working together toward the common goal of selling their book (so ideally both making money so we can eat). I don't view it as hiring another person but as a partnership. #kidlitchat

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 20h

The thing with pitch contests is that you only have a few seconds to grab an agent/editor's attention, so it has to be clear, concise, and show the important points: 1) the protagonist, 2) the plot, and 3) the stakes and why it matters.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 22h

I need to send emails tonight because I am very behind due to this dang cold or whatever virus/parasite is refusing to leave. But since #dvpit is tomorrow and I’ll be at my computer anyway, I can critique a few last-minute pitches that need some not-so-gentle love.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Oy. I had planned on getting so much done today, but this cold came back with a vengeance. I just want to go to bed and wake up in like 5 years. Maybe then my body will have had enough time to regenerate.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

No matter how hard I try, lately I can't seem to get my work email below 30 messages. And if I do get it lower, it miraculously spawns a crapton of emails overnight and even higher than I was before I cleaned things out. WHO APPROVED THIS.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Don't mind me, I'm just over here putting together a picture book proposal on a Sunday night. Exciting stuff.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Seems like most folks were seeking help with pitches before #dvpit on Wednesday. I'm still puttering around for the next hour or so if anyone else has one they'd like an agent to give some feedback on.

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Reposted by Michelle Witte

amy brown @amybrown.xyz · 28/09/2026

having a toddler is like being haunted by a very drunk little ghost

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Reposted by Michelle Witte

Edmonds Scanner @edmondsscanner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Remember. You never know if the mossy horror who is chasing you through the old forest is trying to destroy you or is simply hoping to make a new friend. That's what makes life so exciting.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Okay, I've made dinner and answered some emails, so how about we do some chatting or answering of questions for the next hour or so?

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’m recovering from a cold right now and will probably go nap in a minute, but will anyone be around tomorrow that we could do an Ask An Agent or some other kind of bookish chat? I’m up for anything. But I would like to do something community-wise to get things started, esp with #dvpit this week.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’ll be honest, I used to spend more time on Bluesky but then it seemed like most of in the kidlit and publishing world I was interacting with moved to Threads. So I’ve tried building an audience there, but it doesn’t feel the same and people are just so reactive over there.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The buzz is already starting for Piet Marino’s LITTLE SHOP OF HOARDERS, which besides having an awesome title, is the funniest book I’ve ever read about hoarding. He does such a great job making the characters jump off the page and into your heart. Watch out for it in May 2027!

“Children's Bookshelf
Spring 2027 Children's Sneak Peek
Compiled by Shannon Maughan | Sep 17, 2026
LERNER/CAROLRHODA LAB
Carolrhoda Lab takes inventory with Little Shop of Hoarders by Piet Marino, following high school junior Jake as he persuades his parents to let him film an attempted cleanup of their home, hoping to both create a great documentary and jumpstart a much-needed change for his family”

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm really excited for #DVpit coming up. If it helps authors crafting their pitches, here is the biggest thing I want to see that is often missing: tell me the plot. I personally don't care about tropes. Use that space to give me plot details. I won't request if I don't know what the book is about.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I’m trying very hard today to not come down with a cold. Drinking all the tea and taking all the naps. But I’ve learned the hard way that it takes a lot less time to rest before getting sick than it takes to recover once you’ve got a cold. Also a lot less miserable and head poundy and sniffly.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I’m so excited to be working with Amber. As you can tell, her illustrations are so adorable!

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is legitimately the first time I’ve ever received a tornado alert in my area of Utah (there was famously one in SLC decades ago, but it’s very rare). Wild weather out there right now. Hail is mostly marble- or quarter-sized but it may have broken some windows and the poor cat is terrified.

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Reposted by Michelle Witte

Adam P Knave @adampknave.com · 18/09/2026

This is to inform you that I no longer make typos. No typos at all. I only, occasionally, create select artisanal small batch spellings.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

When you think you can bounce back from jet lag and international travel like when you were in your 20s or even 30s but your body is like, haha NOPE. In related news, I will be responding tomorrow to all the emails I’d planned on getting to today.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

After getting back from two weeks away, I seem to have returned to a Velcro Kitty. He’s going to be rather disappointed when I have to leave for a few hours this afternoon. But I shall return much sooner this time, don’t you worry, kitty.

A brown and white tabby cat that seems incapable of leaving my side this morning.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I met with an editor today who recommended THERE IS NO ANTI MEMETICS DIVISION by qntm as an example of the cool stuff happening with sci-fi in the UK right now. Later when I was at Waterstones two different booksellers gushed about it, so I obviously had to get it. Have any of you read it yet?

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Overhearing enough snippets of what tour guides are saying at art museums, I realized that what I need is an art expert who is LGBTQIA+ and a feminist to give me a tour and spill all the tea, and not just regurgitate the same partriarchal talking points I’ve heard about the masters for years.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

At the National Gallery in London I overheard someone giving a tour mention, “A lot of da Vinci’s paintings were unfinished.” A lightbulb clicked for me. Ah, so he was ADHD then. Just kidding, he was probably AuDHD considering how many special interests he had throughout his life.

Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I missed a very important “the” in the second line and was like, bravo that’s very advanced thinking and I agree with—oh no, wait, they’re just arguing that women as a gender have some value to men. Boo hiss. I prefer my original reading of it.

I missed an important “the” when reading the title of the essay “An Essay In Defense of the Female Sex”

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I have to say that the @morethanadodo.bsky.social Natural History Museum in Oxford is truly a gorgeous building and has so much cool stuff packed inside. Plus a demon sloth. Does it ever come alive at night and attack people? Or maybe just the exhibits?

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

A 365 degree view of the Bodleian Library. (Basically, I was bored waiting in line for the Open Oxford activity in the courtyard of the Bodleian Library in Oxford and wondered what it would look like if I recorded myself spinning in circles.)

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Question 2: Should writers put a statement on their website that they don’t use AI in their writing?

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Answering Your Publishing Questions Question 1: If you query an agent for a book in one genre, are you able to work with them on books in other genres as well.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Your burning questions answered by a literary agent. I’m currently in Oxford for a writing retreat, so to take advantage of the gorgeous scenery I’m mostly answering them outside. Please ask any publishing-related questions you’d like answered in the comments.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I’m trying to do more videos on social media (my video editing skills need practice), so maybe I should do some agent and publishing q&a. What are some questions you have that you’d like an agent to answer?

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Your moment of peace while punting in Oxford.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Sometimes you just need a mozzarella and pesto toastie with a hot mocha at a cute cafe on a rainy day in Oxford.

The interior of a cafe looking out onto a street in Oxford with double decker buses.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A tour of the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

OH at Blackwell’s Bookshop: child to his father: Papa, I love books. I love you, but I love books. 💕💕

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

When I get back to the U.S. I am going to sorely miss being able to eat wheat. No more croissants for breakfast every day means a very sad Michelle.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I’m sorry, but if I saw these things late at night in the Tube all by myself I’d probably think the zombie apocalypse had started early.

What I can only assume is a large creepy gecko or lizard sculpture with weird lighting around it in a dark Tube station in London.

I suspect these are supposed to be huge creepy gray sculptures of lily pads with tadpoles on them, also either terrible lighting in the London Underground.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Experiencing a lot of cognitive dissonance today as I wander the British Museum. Watching people from various parts of the world view their own cultural relics that in a just world would never have been stolen from their countries in the first place and at the very least should be returned now.

Statue from China at the British Museum.

A statue from Easter Island at the British Museum.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

So, uh, it’s a good idea to check whether the bottled water you just bought was a sparkling or still BEFORE adding hydration packet. Unless you enjoy your water exploding all over the table and providing entertainment to everyone in the cafe area of the museum you’re visiting.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I always forget how humid the world is outside of Utah. So my condition for the next two weeks can only be described by one word: moist.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

THANK YOU. I’d tried pulling it up but didn’t think to push on it. See, this is why people shouldn’t make design decisions that my brain can’t figure out.

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Michelle Witte @michellewitte.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The very worst part of traveling for me is trying to figure out how the faucets and showers work. Maybe it’s the AuDHD part of my brain, but it’s like bathroom fixture designers take perverse pleasure in befuddling me as much as they can.

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