South African writer Shubnum Khan is no stranger to the challenges that face an aspiring writer in today’s international publishing industry. As detailed in a Twitter thread that she shared in January 2024, Khan’s journey to secure a literary agent and six-figure deal for her second novel, The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years, involved funding her own international travel, freezing while presenting her work, and accepting encouragement from other writers to keep presenting her ideas. To our benefit, Khan continues to share her writing process and reflections on social media and Substack. In an October 30 Instagram carousel titled, “11 pieces of writing advice I wish someone had given me,” Khan reflects on both the tangible and intangible resources that she draws from every day as an award-winning author.

1. READ all the time

“You should always be reading. Everyday. Nothing no course or teacher will make you a better writer than this.”

2. Create a network

“Make friends with people who love to read and write, follow them on socials, subscribe to their Substacks, sign up for their classes, go for their talks, keep in touch. You need people in the same field as you, especially one where the work is usually lonely.”

3. Be vulnerable

“To connect with someone you have to show who you are and what you actually feel. If you hide from a reader, they know.”

4. Apply for everything

“You will get rejections but you will also get acceptances. Eventually I found myself on small planes to New Mexico, living in an artist hotel in Shanghai, writing in a forest in upstate New York, in a village in the Himalayas or writing in Zanzibar. Take opportunities where you see them. I’ve met amazing people from around the world and seen incredible things. Even if you’re scared, apply for the thing and go. Writing is also about experiencing the world.”

5. Invest in a good chair and yoga mat (Trust me)

6. Be ready for (lots of) rejection

“Art is subjective and there is not enough place or money for everyone in everything. You’re going to receive MANY nos. I have been rejected from agents, publishers, journals, residencies, magazines, prizes and scholarships. This industry is tough. You just have to grow a thick skin, try again and hope you get even better.”

7. Consistency is key

“If you want to be a writer you have to write. Everyday. Not when it suits you. Not when inspiration hits. Like exercise, if you want to see results you have to be consistent.”

8. Expect delays

“Good writing takes time. Publishing takes time. Sometimes a story needs to be put away or abandoned after working on it for a long time. Sometimes you need to grow or gain experience to write something. Mostly you’re waiting – for emails or replies or edits. This is not an industry for the impatient.”

9. Enjoy the sweet moments

“Success if it comes, is rare and brief. Enjoy it for what it is and then back to work.”

10. Edit and edit and edit

“Your first draft is never good enough. Not even your second or third. You must accept you have to keep working on your sentences until the words and the plot shine.”

11. Be yourself

“The only time I started to succeed in my writing is when I started to know and be myself. It took a while to get there. When I knew who I was and when I felt like I was being true to myself, I could write better. Authenticity is key to good writing.”

Shubnum Khan is the author of Onion Tears (2011), How I Accidentally Became a Global Stock Photo and Other Stories  (2021), and The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years aka The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil  (2024). Khan’s personal essays and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times Modern Love, Stylist UK, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Saraba Magazine and more. She has also recently been awarded the 2025 Sunday Times Literary Award for fiction. For more writing advice and essays, subscribe to Shubnum Khan’s Substack: Seeking Wonder: Misadventures of a single writer.