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Just because you got your manuscript accepted by a publisher or a agent doesn’t mean you shouldn’t familiarize yourself with the options, grants, and paperwork that come with publishing. If you intend to self-publish, this is all the more important for you to know. Disclaimer: I’m not the best person to talk about grants or options. These are recounts of my experience, especially with the legal and paperwork needed in the fiction publishing scene in Singapore. Grants Firstly, grants are just one of the many options creatives in Singapore have to fund their works. It is also one of the most common buzzwords muttered amongst artists and arts organizations in the country. For a country with a community this small, Singapore can be considered to have rather generous grant programmes. Contrary to popular belief, however, the National Arts Council is not to only place to apply for creative grants (There are grants from the National Heritage Board, Media Development Authority etc…). But since the NAC grants are the most popular here, we’re just going to get a glimpse at them. Grants can be quite confusing or filled with caveats some of us don’t have the understanding (or energy) to go through. While I encourage reading each line of the grant’s fine print, here’s a more streamlined list of which NAC grants might best suit your needs: National Arts Council Grants:
And that’s just to name a few. You can find out more about the NAC grants here. Other Funding Options Apart from grants, other funding options can come into play. Two popular ways include seed funding, as well as crowdfunding. To clarify, seed funding in this case means self-funded - when you’ve saved to invest in your creation. While this may not sound like the ideal option, but it is one of the more common options - find out your base costs of your project, and see how much you can fund it on your own. This forces you to be frugal with yourself, and also gives you that little boost of motivation to actually think about breaking even (a.k.a. recover your costs). Unless you’re rich, then I don’t have anything else to say. The other popular option is to go into Crowdfunding. Kickstarter, IndieGogo, InkShares, and Patreon are just some of the platforms many creators use to fund their projects. While some are like platforms for pre-orders, all of them will give you the responsibility of delivering on your promise - you cannot take people’s money without rhyme or reason, after all. There’s another option apart from these two, though I do call it the unspoken option, since it seems to be the option many artists I speak to don’t even want to consider. I’ll explain about it further in my next ‘Stages of Creation’ post. Paperwork Regardless of your choice of funding, there’s going to be some paperwork involved (unless you decided to seed fund your entire project). While each fund application would require different application documents, they seem to always want the following documents. Therefore, be prepared and have them ready (make copies, scan etc…) for any time they’re needed.
Just a note on this - be as concise as possible. You don’t have to be too formal about how you’re describing your project / organization / brand to stay true to the essence of what you’re intending to create, but remember your audience - who probably won’t take too kindly to “too-casual” language.
When your grants are with government bodies, there’s a huge chance that they would like to see your certifications and licenses before deciding to grant you funding for your project. Very simple - make copies, scan, and store your academic certifications, testimonials, and what-have-yous as if you’re going for a job interview.
Following up from the previous point - it’s likely that your curriculum vitae / resume would be one of the supporting documents needed in your application as well. As mentioned in the previous point as well - make sure your CV is updated, organized, and is aligned to your grant proposal. Again, think of this as a job interview.
It’ll be good to take a “trial look” at the Application Forms and note down the information you’ll need before submitting your application. This will help you get all your information ready, especially when with online forms that can time out. Same thing with hardcopy forms that you have to submit as well - take note that every blank has been filled, and make full use of the document checklist before submitting your application. Most importantly - submit your application early or by the deadline, for grants, deadlines are not negotiable (at least when you’re thinking about your chances of getting the grant!) Conclusion Conclusion of this post is - there are opportunities and resources to support your creative journey. However, the responsibility of picking an appropriate grant and staying good on your project lies with you as the artist. General rule of thumb: You cannot take the money of others and not care about them. # Again, all the best with your drafts and your pitches - stay tuned next month when we tackle another stage of creation! 
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November 2018
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