Yep Suying, Joelyn

Do stories need to be managed? Feasibility of a business consultancy programme / service for self-published authors in Singapore

The publishing and Literary Arts ecosystem in Singapore has been flourishing for the last decade with regular Literary Arts festivals, the emergence of new publishers and awards, a definite rise in readership of local literature, and local authors. At the same time, a global increase in new publishing and self-publishing options have reached Singapore’s shores, with a small self-publishing community taking root in the local Literary Arts ecosystem. However, alongside these developments, there continues to be gaps that need to be addressed as the ecosystem grows, particularly with a need for skillsets more associated with the entrepreneur or the manager. Through individual interviews with self-published authors and staff from Literary Arts organisations in Singapore, this research aims to gauge the feasibility of a management service or consultancy set up to aid self-published fiction authors in Singapore with career sustainability and development. Through a literature review and interviews, traits and skills needed for more entrepreneurial sustainability within the careers of self-published authors were identified, and an overview of various gaps within the Literary Arts ecosystem discussed. From there, the research suggests recommendations to support the development of Singapore’s Literary Arts ecosystem before coming to a conclusion on the feasibility of a management service or consultancy in Singapore. Findings from the research suggest that rather than set up a full-fledged management consultancy, a modular, management skills programme could be conducted on a more regular basis for authors (self-published or otherwise), in order to address specific problems.