Melanie Dusseau
@melaniedusseau.bsky.social
Creative writing & lit prof, querying romance author, AI refuser, lover of books & poet of the ginger life. www.melaniedusseau.com
Associate Professor of English, U Findlay (she/her), MFA, analog researcher, dog-loving, traveling Hibernophile 💗
Associate Professor of English, U Findlay (she/her), MFA, analog researcher, dog-loving, traveling Hibernophile 💗
Pinned
Burn it down: a license for AI resistance (opinion)
Resistance is not futile, Melanie Dusseau writes.
www.insidehighered.com
Hoping my op ed in IHE will spark conversations on BlueSky about AI resistance & refusal in creative writing education, publishing, & writing pedagogy.
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
#AIinEducation #Edtech #EduSky #AIArt #Technology #creativewriting #writingpedagogy #insidehighered
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
#AIinEducation #Edtech #EduSky #AIArt #Technology #creativewriting #writingpedagogy #insidehighered
Querying perseverance tip #1777:
Don't let all the rejection force you to conclude that "no one likes" your fiction. That's doubt talking. No one likes your poetry, either.
Now go make fauxpirational memes!
#amquerying
Don't let all the rejection force you to conclude that "no one likes" your fiction. That's doubt talking. No one likes your poetry, either.
Now go make fauxpirational memes!
#amquerying
November 23, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Querying perseverance tip #1777:
Don't let all the rejection force you to conclude that "no one likes" your fiction. That's doubt talking. No one likes your poetry, either.
Now go make fauxpirational memes!
#amquerying
Don't let all the rejection force you to conclude that "no one likes" your fiction. That's doubt talking. No one likes your poetry, either.
Now go make fauxpirational memes!
#amquerying
Dud wellness goals? Replace them with FERAL. ©️
Example: "I am kind" becomes "I am feral." Dump toxic gratitude & ask: what witchtastic balm* will set my feral heart aflame?
*NB: FERAL is not an actual balm, but if it were, it would be free of sulfites & tech bros.
#amquerying #cottagecore #feral
Example: "I am kind" becomes "I am feral." Dump toxic gratitude & ask: what witchtastic balm* will set my feral heart aflame?
*NB: FERAL is not an actual balm, but if it were, it would be free of sulfites & tech bros.
#amquerying #cottagecore #feral
November 23, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Dud wellness goals? Replace them with FERAL. ©️
Example: "I am kind" becomes "I am feral." Dump toxic gratitude & ask: what witchtastic balm* will set my feral heart aflame?
*NB: FERAL is not an actual balm, but if it were, it would be free of sulfites & tech bros.
#amquerying #cottagecore #feral
Example: "I am kind" becomes "I am feral." Dump toxic gratitude & ask: what witchtastic balm* will set my feral heart aflame?
*NB: FERAL is not an actual balm, but if it were, it would be free of sulfites & tech bros.
#amquerying #cottagecore #feral
All I want for Christmas is a literary agent, but in the meantime, I'm working on my side hustle as a Toast Influencer. ©️
I test all recipes and do not use bots. I will never ask you for financial information unless I really need a bougie facial.
#amquerying
I test all recipes and do not use bots. I will never ask you for financial information unless I really need a bougie facial.
#amquerying
November 16, 2025 at 2:33 PM
All I want for Christmas is a literary agent, but in the meantime, I'm working on my side hustle as a Toast Influencer. ©️
I test all recipes and do not use bots. I will never ask you for financial information unless I really need a bougie facial.
#amquerying
I test all recipes and do not use bots. I will never ask you for financial information unless I really need a bougie facial.
#amquerying
It may be of little consequence in the burning world, but stop trying to make mushroom coffee happen, yeah?
#amquerying #INeedRealCoffeeYo
#amquerying #INeedRealCoffeeYo
November 15, 2025 at 12:51 AM
It may be of little consequence in the burning world, but stop trying to make mushroom coffee happen, yeah?
#amquerying #INeedRealCoffeeYo
#amquerying #INeedRealCoffeeYo
JCO trolling maga wins the internet. Her takedowns of Musk are equally sublime.
November 14, 2025 at 2:26 PM
JCO trolling maga wins the internet. Her takedowns of Musk are equally sublime.
From Samhain to the winter solstice: let darkness come.
#CelticFireFestivals #Samhain #harvest #BlessedBe
#CelticFireFestivals #Samhain #harvest #BlessedBe
November 1, 2025 at 2:21 AM
From Samhain to the winter solstice: let darkness come.
#CelticFireFestivals #Samhain #harvest #BlessedBe
#CelticFireFestivals #Samhain #harvest #BlessedBe
October 30, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Reposted by Melanie Dusseau
That one time I wrote a really unserious book that started as a complete joke to pitch to my agent, and then everyone loved it and said it was my best yet and I had a whole identity crisis.....
You can read it #writingcommunity : open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...
You can read it #writingcommunity : open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...
August 29, 2025 at 1:09 AM
That one time I wrote a really unserious book that started as a complete joke to pitch to my agent, and then everyone loved it and said it was my best yet and I had a whole identity crisis.....
You can read it #writingcommunity : open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...
You can read it #writingcommunity : open.substack.com/pub/kellylbe...
Magic 8 Ball: Goth Edition
Q: Will a literary agent love my ragetastic paranormal romance?
A: "If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear." -Mary Shelley
Fin.
#amquerying #writesky #writersky #romancelandia #writingcommunity
Q: Will a literary agent love my ragetastic paranormal romance?
A: "If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear." -Mary Shelley
Fin.
#amquerying #writesky #writersky #romancelandia #writingcommunity
October 27, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Magic 8 Ball: Goth Edition
Q: Will a literary agent love my ragetastic paranormal romance?
A: "If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear." -Mary Shelley
Fin.
#amquerying #writesky #writersky #romancelandia #writingcommunity
Q: Will a literary agent love my ragetastic paranormal romance?
A: "If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear." -Mary Shelley
Fin.
#amquerying #writesky #writersky #romancelandia #writingcommunity
It's almost Samhain! Do you know what paranormal romance shares with monster literature and media? An appreciation of the well made brute.
The world is burning and you can stop pretending not to love paranormal romance, or if you're some kinda green fool newb: lucky, lucky you. 🦇
#romancelandia
The world is burning and you can stop pretending not to love paranormal romance, or if you're some kinda green fool newb: lucky, lucky you. 🦇
#romancelandia
October 26, 2025 at 1:08 PM
It's almost Samhain! Do you know what paranormal romance shares with monster literature and media? An appreciation of the well made brute.
The world is burning and you can stop pretending not to love paranormal romance, or if you're some kinda green fool newb: lucky, lucky you. 🦇
#romancelandia
The world is burning and you can stop pretending not to love paranormal romance, or if you're some kinda green fool newb: lucky, lucky you. 🦇
#romancelandia
The resistance finding a home is big, but finding each other has been life-affirming. Join us in the Library of Babel, friends. Check out what we're about at the link.
#NoSurveillance #Humanity #AIRefusal #AIinEdu #EduSky #AIResistance #Luddites #WriterSky
www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...
#NoSurveillance #Humanity #AIRefusal #AIinEdu #EduSky #AIResistance #Luddites #WriterSky
www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...
The Library of Babel Group
www.law.georgetown.edu
October 25, 2025 at 1:24 PM
The resistance finding a home is big, but finding each other has been life-affirming. Join us in the Library of Babel, friends. Check out what we're about at the link.
#NoSurveillance #Humanity #AIRefusal #AIinEdu #EduSky #AIResistance #Luddites #WriterSky
www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...
#NoSurveillance #Humanity #AIRefusal #AIinEdu #EduSky #AIResistance #Luddites #WriterSky
www.law.georgetown.edu/privacy-tech...
That first incredulous "what?" made me cheer. Meanwhile, the disconnect between creatives and AI hypers grows to a chasm.
#writersky #AI #edusky #writesky #AIresistance #AIrefusal
#writersky #AI #edusky #writesky #AIresistance #AIrefusal
October 17, 2025 at 5:04 PM
That first incredulous "what?" made me cheer. Meanwhile, the disconnect between creatives and AI hypers grows to a chasm.
#writersky #AI #edusky #writesky #AIresistance #AIrefusal
#writersky #AI #edusky #writesky #AIresistance #AIrefusal
Need an autumn-themed, swoony distraction? Grab a copy of my 5-minute romance in WW. On newsstands this week! 🍁❤️
@womansworldmag.bsky.social
#romancelandia #writesky #freelance #writersky #romance #writingcommunity
@womansworldmag.bsky.social
#romancelandia #writesky #freelance #writersky #romance #writingcommunity
October 15, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Need an autumn-themed, swoony distraction? Grab a copy of my 5-minute romance in WW. On newsstands this week! 🍁❤️
@womansworldmag.bsky.social
#romancelandia #writesky #freelance #writersky #romance #writingcommunity
@womansworldmag.bsky.social
#romancelandia #writesky #freelance #writersky #romance #writingcommunity
AWP members, this webinar is free for members: October 21 1:00PM ETS. Registration required.
#WriteSky #WriterSky #AWP #AI
awpwriter.org/AWP/AWP/Maga...
#WriteSky #WriterSky #AWP #AI
awpwriter.org/AWP/AWP/Maga...
AWP Member-Only Live Event: Authors’ Rights in the Age of AI
AWP members, you asked for it, and we’re making it happen! Regina Brooks, AWP board member and president of the Association of American Literary Agents, moderates as three invited experts outline the ...
awpwriter.org
October 13, 2025 at 5:34 PM
AWP members, this webinar is free for members: October 21 1:00PM ETS. Registration required.
#WriteSky #WriterSky #AWP #AI
awpwriter.org/AWP/AWP/Maga...
#WriteSky #WriterSky #AWP #AI
awpwriter.org/AWP/AWP/Maga...
Check out two stabby new poems in @villaineralit.bsky.social, a literary magazine of revenge. 🔪
#poetry #writesky #publishing
#poetry #writesky #publishing
Melanie Dusseau warns that handlers of redheads may find these poems difficult to hear, today at Villain Era!
Two Poems by Melanie Dusseau
Eve Takes One for the Team “Some paradise,” Eve sighed, mind zigzaggingbetween hangry and horny. No snake slithered but the sun struck a tree bushy with ruby baubles: pomegranates. She smashed one open with a rock, mouth agape at the red spill. Juice ran down her chin——a delighted smile lit her faceas she inspected seeds in her palm, mind on fire.
villaineralit.com
October 11, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Check out two stabby new poems in @villaineralit.bsky.social, a literary magazine of revenge. 🔪
#poetry #writesky #publishing
#poetry #writesky #publishing
Need a swoony distraction? My flash fic, "A Season for Love" will appear in WW mag, on sale Oct 10. It's a dual POV set in an apple orchard after a 5K. ✍️💙📚🍁
#freelance #publishing #romancelandia #amquerying #writerlife #writingcommunity #booksky #amwriting #writesky #romancelit #author #lovestory
#freelance #publishing #romancelandia #amquerying #writerlife #writingcommunity #booksky #amwriting #writesky #romancelit #author #lovestory
October 7, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Need a swoony distraction? My flash fic, "A Season for Love" will appear in WW mag, on sale Oct 10. It's a dual POV set in an apple orchard after a 5K. ✍️💙📚🍁
#freelance #publishing #romancelandia #amquerying #writerlife #writingcommunity #booksky #amwriting #writesky #romancelit #author #lovestory
#freelance #publishing #romancelandia #amquerying #writerlife #writingcommunity #booksky #amwriting #writesky #romancelit #author #lovestory
Joyful aspects of querying:
✍️ Researching agents. I love their personal, bookish stories. The manuscript wish lists that light you on fire.
✍️The little thrill of hope when you hit send.
✍️ Putting off grading to examine QT stats just long enough to conclude you might be a "maybe."
#amquerying
✍️ Researching agents. I love their personal, bookish stories. The manuscript wish lists that light you on fire.
✍️The little thrill of hope when you hit send.
✍️ Putting off grading to examine QT stats just long enough to conclude you might be a "maybe."
#amquerying
October 7, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Joyful aspects of querying:
✍️ Researching agents. I love their personal, bookish stories. The manuscript wish lists that light you on fire.
✍️The little thrill of hope when you hit send.
✍️ Putting off grading to examine QT stats just long enough to conclude you might be a "maybe."
#amquerying
✍️ Researching agents. I love their personal, bookish stories. The manuscript wish lists that light you on fire.
✍️The little thrill of hope when you hit send.
✍️ Putting off grading to examine QT stats just long enough to conclude you might be a "maybe."
#amquerying
Reposted by Melanie Dusseau
Book Broker: an interview with literary agent Kerry D'Agostino
"It is very clear when we receive a manuscript that is an early stage of drafting."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/b...
#amquerying #mswl
"It is very clear when we receive a manuscript that is an early stage of drafting."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/b...
#amquerying #mswl
Book Broker: an interview with Kerry D’Agostino
A good manuscript catches my attention right away and does not let it go. I am most drawn to voice-driven narratives, where I find something relatable about the protagonist right away, and I find…
darlingaxe.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Book Broker: an interview with literary agent Kerry D'Agostino
"It is very clear when we receive a manuscript that is an early stage of drafting."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/b...
#amquerying #mswl
"It is very clear when we receive a manuscript that is an early stage of drafting."
darlingaxe.com/blogs/news/b...
#amquerying #mswl
October 5, 2025 at 10:54 AM
I wish Query Tracker had an after hours lounge where insomniac writers in different time zones could meet to laugh and cry together. 💙📚
#AmQuerying #Authors #TradPub #WritingCommunity #WriterLife #WriteSky #SpecFic #WriterSky #ParanormalRomance #RomanceWriter #BookSky #Gingers #WritingProf #Romance
#AmQuerying #Authors #TradPub #WritingCommunity #WriterLife #WriteSky #SpecFic #WriterSky #ParanormalRomance #RomanceWriter #BookSky #Gingers #WritingProf #Romance
October 4, 2025 at 7:47 PM
I wish Query Tracker had an after hours lounge where insomniac writers in different time zones could meet to laugh and cry together. 💙📚
#AmQuerying #Authors #TradPub #WritingCommunity #WriterLife #WriteSky #SpecFic #WriterSky #ParanormalRomance #RomanceWriter #BookSky #Gingers #WritingProf #Romance
#AmQuerying #Authors #TradPub #WritingCommunity #WriterLife #WriteSky #SpecFic #WriterSky #ParanormalRomance #RomanceWriter #BookSky #Gingers #WritingProf #Romance
It is a joy, privilege, and responsibility to create reading lists for my students. It's also more important than ever to stand against censorship and in solidarity with academic freedom in education.
#EduSky #RightToRead #PenAmerica #anticensorship #readbannedbooks
pen.org/report/the-n...
#EduSky #RightToRead #PenAmerica #anticensorship #readbannedbooks
pen.org/report/the-n...
The Normalization of Book Banning
This report offers a window into the complex and extensive climate of censorship between July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
pen.org
October 4, 2025 at 4:54 PM
It is a joy, privilege, and responsibility to create reading lists for my students. It's also more important than ever to stand against censorship and in solidarity with academic freedom in education.
#EduSky #RightToRead #PenAmerica #anticensorship #readbannedbooks
pen.org/report/the-n...
#EduSky #RightToRead #PenAmerica #anticensorship #readbannedbooks
pen.org/report/the-n...
My Weird Tales lit class is tearing through several novellas, and they are the perfect length to capture the reading attentions of college students.
If you haven't read Becky Chambers, you ought to. Next up: book 1 of Murderbot by Martha Wells. *Squeals in Sci Fi*
#novellas #writingprof #readmore
If you haven't read Becky Chambers, you ought to. Next up: book 1 of Murderbot by Martha Wells. *Squeals in Sci Fi*
#novellas #writingprof #readmore
October 3, 2025 at 10:35 AM
My Weird Tales lit class is tearing through several novellas, and they are the perfect length to capture the reading attentions of college students.
If you haven't read Becky Chambers, you ought to. Next up: book 1 of Murderbot by Martha Wells. *Squeals in Sci Fi*
#novellas #writingprof #readmore
If you haven't read Becky Chambers, you ought to. Next up: book 1 of Murderbot by Martha Wells. *Squeals in Sci Fi*
#novellas #writingprof #readmore
Exactly what I have been telling my creative writing students. I am glad to see this kind of messaging on more and more literary agents' submission guidelines.
#EduSky #creativewriting #amquerying #humancreativity #AIResistance
@ecniumata.bsky.social
erinniumata.substack.com/p/why-i-cann...
#EduSky #creativewriting #amquerying #humancreativity #AIResistance
@ecniumata.bsky.social
erinniumata.substack.com/p/why-i-cann...
Why I Cannot Represent AI-Generated Work
It has its uses but not in fiction.
erinniumata.substack.com
October 2, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Exactly what I have been telling my creative writing students. I am glad to see this kind of messaging on more and more literary agents' submission guidelines.
#EduSky #creativewriting #amquerying #humancreativity #AIResistance
@ecniumata.bsky.social
erinniumata.substack.com/p/why-i-cann...
#EduSky #creativewriting #amquerying #humancreativity #AIResistance
@ecniumata.bsky.social
erinniumata.substack.com/p/why-i-cann...
I feel this way about socialslop, too. Imagine that? Automation is not only unethical; it deskills with a vengeance.
#AIResistance #AIRefusal #HumansDoItBetter
hbr.org/2025/09/ai-g...
#AIResistance #AIRefusal #HumansDoItBetter
hbr.org/2025/09/ai-g...
AI-Generated “Workslop” Is Destroying Productivity
Despite a surge in generative AI use across workplaces, most companies are seeing little measurable ROI. One possible reason is because AI tools are being used to produce “workslop”—content that appea...
hbr.org
September 27, 2025 at 2:20 PM
I feel this way about socialslop, too. Imagine that? Automation is not only unethical; it deskills with a vengeance.
#AIResistance #AIRefusal #HumansDoItBetter
hbr.org/2025/09/ai-g...
#AIResistance #AIRefusal #HumansDoItBetter
hbr.org/2025/09/ai-g...