I confess. I’m not a fiction writer.
But as a non-fiction writer that has published 4 books to date, I’ve come in contact with other aspiring authors. Here, I also want to be honest.
The first two were self-published.
The next was with a hybrid publisher.
The last was with a traditional publisher.
Here in Singapore, I had to start this way as the local publishing scene is quite small. Without backing yourself, it was hard to find someone who would back you.
Back to the aspiring authors.
Their story often goes something like this.
I’ve been working on this book idea for the past year.
I’ve sent it to publishers but they are not willing to take it.
When I ask them why they don’t go ahead to self-publish, their objections tend to be:
The writing is easy, the selling is tough
Let’s peel behind the scenes of Kevin Kwan, the hugely successful author behind ‘Crazy Rich Asians’.
How did he become successful?
If we looked at his writing process, he said in his interview with Banana Writers,
For this book, my process was rather haphazard – I wrote whenever I found the time, whether late at night or in between other projects. Much of the book was written in 2011, when I was producing a book for Oprah Winfrey.
I had to make many trips from my home base in New York to her studios in Chicago, so I had countless hours of waiting time in airport lounges and lots of evenings alone in hotel rooms to write.
The writing was easy.
Kevin Kwan further shares how he couldn’t stop writing even though the first draft was over 600 pages.
It is the selling that is tough. Kevin initially reached out to an agent to sell his work. He shares,
I submitted my manuscript to Alexandra Machinist at Janklow & Nesbit, knowing that she was a specialist in fiction.
I waited for three weeks (probably the most nerve-wracking weeks of my life) until she called to tell me how much she loved the book.
A month later, we submitted the manuscript to a select list of publishers, and within a week I had offers on my book.
You can see the process.
Write, send to an agent, who then recommends it to publishers they know.
But this is the US.
Here in Singapore, things are a little different. We might think that not many people read.
But the statistics from Singapore’s National Library Board 2021 Reading Survey found that at least 78% of the population do read.
Singaporeans tend to read foreign authors, rather than Singaporean ones. This means that there’s a smaller market for Singaporean fiction authors to sell the work, unless it resonates in a different way.
And if we look at why they read, it’s because it is relatable.
If you remember those SingLit short stories they made you study for Singaporean literature, it tends to be about the difficulties faced pursuing the modern Singaporean dream.
Seeing the state of the Singaporean market, starting authors have two options.
- Write and publish for an overseas market
- Write and publish in a local market, and then use that as learning for the next book
The resistance in writing for a local market
I’ve spoken to 4 aspiring fiction authors, and they often say similar things when I ask them if they are open to writing and publishing in Singapore.
One of them crudely pointed out that Singaporean authors make it famous (in Singapore) if their stories are about
living on sampans, and moving to HDBs.
It’s a throwback to the times when Singapore was less developed, and there’s a nostalgia about living in those times once again.
My advice is to put your own skin in the game. Pay a publisher to put out your work.
Paying a publisher is just $6000
The reason for this is simple. You have zero credibility right now.
As good as your manuscript is, you are a risk.
| Traditional Singaporean publisher | Hybrid publisher like us | |
|---|---|---|
| Those in the market now | Ethos Press, Epigram Books, Armour Publishing | Gutenhag |
| Cost | $0, and you might be paid $950 | $6000, $2000 per month over 3 months |
| Time taken | You might never be accepted, and you would take upwards of 1.5 years trying to refine your script, find a publisher who will take you, and then work more on the script (if it’s accepted) | 6 months |
| Quality of manuscript | Based on what the publisher thinks will sell | You get creative control, with feedback |
| Marketing | They might talk to big bookstores to take your book | Pitching you to the press, radio, and online media |
You need to think like your publisher would and spend some of your own money to prove that you can sell a book. That people would want to buy your book, beyond your aunt, uncle, and mother.
Putting out your own work, in printed form, is going to be difficult, but it’s going to be faster learning than you trying harder and harder to refine your script, without any real life feedback on what people think about it.
All people can read is a Word document, which might not be as powerful as a real book in their hands.
You can work with someone like us, or any other publishers out there.
Just don’t keep waiting. The book is not going to magically appear.