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CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
Commentary: Tough to make a living writing books, but Singapore needs storytellers
SINGAPORE: As an author, one question I always get when I give talks at secondary schools is: How much does an author earn? I usually smile and say, 'It can vary widely for different authors and well, most of us are not James Patterson or Stephen King.' Authors earn royalties, which means we get a small percentage from every book sold. In Singapore and globally, royalties typically fall between 5 to 15 per cent of the book's selling price. That price could be based on the gross retail price or a net figure after costs. So if a book sells for S$20, a 10 per cent royalty earns you S$2 per book. And if that royalty is based on the net price, it's even less. Then there's the big question: How many books can an author sell? That depends on many things – whether the book is sold locally or internationally, how many titles the author has, their audience reach. But generally speaking, lifetime sales often range from a few hundred to a few thousand copies. Some books never even sell out their first print run of 1,000 copies or less. That first advance – which is basically a prepayment of royalties for a projected number of sales – might end up being the only money an author ever sees from their book. They only earn more once their book has 'earned out' the advance. So when aspiring writers ask if this is a sustainable career, my answer is: Honestly, not usually; many authors write while holding down a full-time job. Of course, there are occasional headlines about Singaporean authors landing lucrative book deals overseas. Jemimah Wei's The Original Daughter recently sold at auction for more than US$500,000. TOUGH LOCAL MARKET Singapore writers face some unique challenges. First, the market is small, so there are only so many people to sell to. Authors don't have many publishers to choose from, which limits their bargaining power during contract negotiation. Add to that Singapore's well-stocked libraries, which make readers more inclined to borrow than buy books. On top of it all, bookstores are dwindling, which means fewer places for local writers to sell their books. Singapore has made efforts to support its literary scene – largely through the National Arts Council and various grants. The SG Culture Pass, a scheme that will give each Singaporean S$100 to spend on the arts, including local literature, is a positive step. Organisations like Sing Lit Station and the Singapore Book Council have helped fuel ground-up initiatives, from school programmes and mentorships to community events. Major festivals like the Singapore Writers Festival and the Asian Festival of Children's Content (AFCC) have provided vital platforms for local authors to connect with readers and showcase their work. While these efforts have opened doors, sustaining a writing career in Singapore is still tough. Grants are helpful for specific projects, but they don't solve the bigger issue of long-term sustainability. What local authors need are more direct and consistent forms of support like better book advances, more robust marketing efforts and broader distribution channels. One area that was recently talked about is Public Lending Right (PLR) – a system used in countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and across Europe. Through government funding, it compensates writers when their books are borrowed from libraries. This could provide a modest but meaningful income stream for local writers, especially in a market where book sales are limited. WHY SUPPORT SINGLIT? For every person who champions SingLit, there's probably someone else who doesn't read local books, nor sees the need to. But to say we can do without SingLit is shortsighted. When a country lacks stories written by its own people, it begins to lose its place in the global narrative. Without those voices, people grow up surrounded by borrowed perspectives, which slowly shapes how they see themselves and their culture. Young readers, especially, start to feel invisible. If no one in the stories they read looks like them, talks like them, or faces the same challenges, it sends a quiet message: Your life isn't worth writing about. That kind of absence chips away at self-worth and imagination. The impact of local stories is hard to measure – but it's real. I've seen it firsthand with my middle grade series, My BFF Is An Alien. The story follows a Singaporean girl and her unlikely friendship with an alien, and the adventures they go on together. Is this the kind of story that would score me a massive publishing deal? Probably not. Is it Booker Prize material? Again, probably not. But I've had young readers come up to me and say that my books made them want to become writers. I've had parents tell me it was my books that finally got their children hooked and sparked their interest in reading. That's not nothing. There are so many great middle grade books – but what made mine hit home for these readers wasn't just their fun plot or relatable themes. It was the fact that the readers could see themselves in the pages. They connected with my stories because it reflected something true about their lived experience. The voices sounded familiar. The setting felt like home. And that recognition – that 'hey, this is about me!' moment – is powerful. THE LOVE OF STORYTELLING One might ask: If writing pays so little, why do it at all? The simple answer for most is that we do it for the love of storytelling. We write stories we wish existed, stories we want to read and see out in the world. For me, My BFF Is An Alien was the story I wish I had when I started secondary school. That period in my life was incredibly lonely, and I would've loved to lose myself in a book that felt like it understood me. I also wrote it for my own children, so they had more choices beyond the Eurocentric stories I grew up with. Representation matters. When you see someone like you – a kid from your neighbourhood, someone who sounds like your friends – as the hero of a story, it changes what you believe is possible. That's not just fiction. That's hope. But for those stories to keep coming, writers need support – whether it's PLR schemes, grants, or just making sure their books are on shelves and in homes. Without enough backing, even the most passionate authors can burn out. In a time when artificial intelligence is creeping into creative spaces, the human voice has become even more precious. There's a soul behind stories that only people can bring – our humour, heartbreaks, quirks and lived truths. And in Singapore, that voice is rare. That's worth preserving and supporting.
Independent Singapore
15 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Is filial piety ever enough? Comic strip on 'Why I gave up on my mother' goes viral
SINGAPORE: A recent comic strip about the limits of filial piety from The Woke Salaryman has garnered significant attention online, not just from Singaporeans but also from other Asians. This should come as no surprise, given that respect and reverence for elders is one of the key values in this part of the world. Captioned 'Is filial piety ever enough?' and based on a person's real-life experiences, the comic strip is about the relationship between a woman and her mother, who, although she was capable of being affectionate at times, also had a dark side that caused her to mistreat her daughter. Screenshot For example, her mum threw a phone at her when she behaved naughtily when she was seven years old, although she claimed it was an accident, and when she was 15, her mum kicked her out in the middle of the night. When she started working, her mum made her give her half of her salary, as well as pay for all their utility bills and mortgage payments, which meant the woman had very little to show for it after working for 10 years. One day, after a particularly difficult fight between them, the woman finally left their home. When she realized how badly her mother had been treating her, continuing to harass her even at work, she filed a Personal Protection Order. Although she built a new life for herself, she said she still loves her mum and tries to understand why she treated her so badly. However, she wrote that she can't forgive her mother quite yet. 'Am I unfilial? Depending on who you ask, the answer might be yes. I grew up in a society where filial piety was seen as a virtue,' she wrote, adding that while this used to bother her, she has come to realize that relationships are a two-way street. 'Mak, maybe I am a bad daughter like you always said, but I'd rather be a bad daughter for now if it means I can get my life back at the end,' she wrote. The post has since been viewed, liked, and shared on Facebook and Instagram thousands of times, and netizens have not held back on commenting as well, suggesting that the strip has struck a chord with so many. 'Thanks for this. Seen too many people passing empty platitudes of 'you only have 1 mother/father' when they should be feeling gratitude that their parents are good,' wrote a Facebook user. 'I feel this.. no matter how hard I try to satisfy my mom, to give in to all of her demands — it is still not enough. My dad knows this, even my close relatives too — but all they can say is 'sabarlah' (be patient)… When I had my daughter, I swore that she would never experience all those gaslighting,' a woman chimed in. 'You cannot love and hug a roll of barbed wire,' another commented. The Independent Singapore has reached out to The Woke Salaryman for further comments. /TISG Read also: Xishan Primary School says boy was assaulted by his own sibling after mother makes police report about bullying
AsiaOne
21 hours ago
- AsiaOne
Singapore's Chiral Comics partners Archie Comics for exclusive SG60 book cover, Singapore News
SINGAPORE - Home-grown outfit Chiral Comics has teamed up with American comic book publisher Archie Comics to launch a Singapore-themed variant cover for the first issue of Betty & Veronica: Summer Fun In The Sun. The exclusive book cover - where main character Archie dons an "I Love SG" shirt while his best friend Jughead munches on durian - features the characters from the popular franchise (1942 to present) exploring the country's iconic Gardens by the Bay. It is limited to 300 copies worldwide. Priced at $25.55 each, pre-orders started on July 19 at Select Singapore comics retailers like Kalibak Komiks and 1to3 Comics will also carry it. This SG60 book cover collaboration involves local comic artist Kang Jing (also known as KJ), who was the penciler and inker, and Italy-based freelance comic colourist Daniele Caramanico, who did the colouring. KJ established Chiral Comics, a Singapore-based art studio which specialises in comic book publishing and visual storytelling, in 2021, and reportedly started working on the Archie project in April 2025. The 31-year-old, who has been sketching anime characters since he was six, began his comics career in 2019. His debut series The World My Arena (2021 to 2022) has since been adapted into an animated video, and other notable works include bilingual webcomic series Save Me From Chloe (2021) and Zhao (2023), an original wuxia comic series. KJ has also worked on seven Star Wars-themed projects with Topps, an American trading card manufacturer. And in 2024, he illustrated a Singapore-themed variant cover featuring the Singapore skyline for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #122 comic. All 525 copies released at comic convention Singapore Comic Con 2024 were sold out. [embed] [embed] [[nid:697039]] This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.
