The delicate labour situation which has dominated cultural fields in recent years has driven me to become an entrepeneur. The move has brought with it financial uncertainty but also mental liberation. My work as a non-fiction writer has seen other changes during the last couple decades: along with a manuscript for a traditional biography the publisher has to be presented with a sales projection of 300‒400 copies.

In the upheavals gripping the book industry the job description for a non-fiction writer has underwent quite a transformation: it has become necessary to also sell ideas and to be active on social media. An interesting topic by itself may no longer be enough to attract a publisher. Multiple publishers have been asking me to write the biography of the same female singer in a bid to ensure headlines for the potential book.

As a documentarist I am completely at the mercy of whatever good will various foundations may direct my way. You have to show creativity when choosing subjects. There is not much demand for documentaries on culture and art; in turn documentaries which shed light on societal ills seem to be much more likely to receive public funding. The level of competition for funding is therefore high. On the other hand my years as a diplomat in the United States taught me what hard work private fundraising is. Nothing can be taken for granted.

In Finland it is difficult to get a few hundred thousand euros in funding for a mid-sized cultural project if the applicant is a small and quick-moving production company. But if the applicant is a selection of public institutions who first ask money for “project planning”, then “international networking” and “project co-ordination”, and finally for the actual project itself if the whole thing has not ground to a halt by this point, then the funds are much easier to come by. This presents quite a challenge to a small humanist entrepreneur. In our prevailing cultural climate faith, support and encouragement are virtually non-existent for a large project by a small operator.

Expertise today. What is it? “Can you be the moderator or a panellist for a discussion?” “How much do you pay?” “Nothing, but you will get visibility and an opportunity to advertise your own projects.” It is typical of our time, but a completely foreign concept to me, that everyone in the public eye is hawking themselves and their expertise instead of concentrating on the actual topic at hand. I have declined requests like these.