After graduating from college, Chang's first paying job was as a researcher for the
J. Peterman Company. Afterwards, she worked as an arts journalist and editor while writing "her serious novel" at night. Chang also served as the West Coast editor for
Metropolis Chang wrote
The Wangs vs. the World over a period of five years after that party. When Chang submitted the unsolicited manuscript to
Eddie Huang's literary agent, Marc Gerald, it was accepted and the publishing rights were put up for auction. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt won the bidding for the American rights, and made it their lead novel for October 2016. The novel was Helen Atsma's first acquisition for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, who said it was the "rare novel that makes me both laugh out loud and cry." A TV series has been development with Hulu since early 2018. In 2020, Chang wrote one episode for
Netflix original series
The Baby-Sitters Club, her first credited television work, "Claudia and Mean Janine" which focuses on Claudia learning her grandmother was forced to live in
Manzanar, a detention camp for Japanese-Americans during World War II. ==Influences==