Most of us often think publishing a novel is a quick and easy process, especially when it comes to second novels. But Shubnum Khan’s story of releasing her second novel The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is so harrowing that it will definitely make us think twice about the complexities of the publishing industry.
A scintillating horror read, Khan’s book is about a haunted South African mansion, a djinn roaming its walls, and a curious girl who unearths the tragedy that happened there a hundred years ago. The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years just released on January 9, 2024 through Viking. Buy here.
But the journey to publishing the book was not so easy. Read Khan’s Twitter thread below:
This is the story of How I Got a Book Deal After I Almost Gave Up:
I’d published a novel in South Africa in 2011 but I soon realized if I wanted a writing career I had to get a lit agent. We don’t know much abt agents here so I read articles & tweets & then made a list of agents— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
I liked on a colour coded excel sheet. I sent out queries and got rejected – this is normal for any writer, but it’s even harder when you’re South African. Any writer living in Africa will tell you how difficult it is to get a lit agent, esp if you’re not in the US or UK
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
or have contacts or MFA links etc. Our stories are so typecast and we’re so far away, and to add to it I had a South African Indian Muslim Gothic novel which is even harder to compartmentalize. I started to apply for a lot of things I saw on Twitter which included a residency for
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
writers of color in New Mexico (JJLA), which I don’t think anyone outside of the US would’ve applied for because it was new & there was no international travel stipend but I knew it might give me an opportunity because my novel was nearly done & lit agents were on the program
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
It seemed perfect for anyone trying to break into the writing industry there. I was a freelancer & while I had savings I knew it was going to be expensive to go (the res gave $500 for travel which wouldn’t be enough for a SA to NM journey) so I applied to 2 organizations
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
in Durban for funds and they all said no. I remember when I bought the plane ticket I told myself: ‘This money is an investment in your future’. I went to NM & learnt so much from so many. When the day came for us to pitch our book to an agent over Zoom,
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
I thought I was ready but when the time came, the pressure hit me: I’d flown all the way from South Africa to the US for this. My career felt like it was hanging in the balance of this moment. Here was the chance I’d waited my life for. I started to tell the agent about my novel
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
but then I just froze. I began to say ‘um’ a lot. My mind was blank. It was too much pressure.
I apologized & said, ‘I can’t do this,’ then walked away.
I went to corner of the room, put my hands in my face and started to cry. I’d ruined my chance. Others came to comfort me.— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
I was inconsolable. This was what I had come to the US for, & I had failed. I had failed before I had even given myself a chance. I was miserable.
Part of the residency was that each resident had 30 min to chat writing with the writer in residence and that day— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
was my turn. Unfortunately I was still distraught & I kept sporadically crying during our meeting & then apologizing. She asked me what was wrong & when I explained, she said she was sorry to hear that & that she thought I was a good writer (she’d heard me read from my
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
wip) and she would like to help.
I said sure, but really at that stage I was so deep in my despair I didn’t understand or believe that anything would happen. I went to bed feeling like I’d failed myself & resigned to finally give up on this book.
In the morning when I opened my— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
inbox I found 3 emails from lit agents in NYC saying they had heard about me & my book from the writer and please could I send them a chapter? I can’t explain the feeling I had – I went from such deep anguish to utter astonishment. Agents were contacting ME. It felt unreal.
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
From those emails, I ended up meeting my agent, @jlkardon for coffee and a while later I signed on with her. She understood my strange story about lovesick djinns on the east coast of South Africa. We worked on the book & in 2022 she sold it at auction for a 6 figure deal
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
to my editor, @makep1enotw4r who loves the story. This is unbelievable in itself (!) but also I’ll never forget how I told myself when I bought that ticket to the US – ‘this is an investment you are making in your future’ and it really was.
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
I do believe first and foremost in the generosity of others and I know none of this could have happened without @jennydeluxe who sent out that email about my work, and of course @drlwatkins and @kima_jones who got me into NM in the 1st place but I do also believe
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
that when we bet on ourselves, when we invest in ourselves and what we can do, life opens in incredible and unexpected ways. I hope this story inspires you to pursue your dreams no matter how out of reach they seem.
— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
Also you should invest in someone who invests in themself so preorder my US debut that fought so hard to come into this world:
THE DJINN WAITS A HUNDRED YEARS out 9 Jan 24 https://t.co/stydqthh9F— Shubnum Khan | Preorder The Djinn Waits (@ShubnumKhan) December 28, 2023
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