Is it worth basing your IP in a VN?

[Dollywitch]

This is what I'm worrying about now. As an indie thing, the OELVN community is fine, but for people who really have an idea, universe or set of characters to get out there - is this the best way of doing it?

If Japan picked up on OELVNs the same way we do with theirs, there would be a possible market for it at least, but they don't seem to care.

The only OELVN to pick up any real popularity has been Katawa Shoujo, but a lot of people either didn't get it or felt let down, so I'm worried it won't boost the popularity of OELVNs overall.

VNs are just a tough sell to a lot of people. To justify it, you need to have decent art or music, and generally have quite a few meaningful choices, which isn't something I'm able to implement in some of my more linear stories.

So should I maybe keep my stuff to novels and just make VNs of random ideas I have? Is it worth seriously investing an intellectual property, series, universe etc. in VNs? Is there a way to mix the two?

[papillon]

Are you asking whether you'd be more likely to be picked up by TV producers if you wrote novels (which is a fairly unrealistic goal) or just if you'd be able to reach a wider audience of readers?

There may be more people reading straight fiction, but there's also a total saturation of the stuff out there. Unless you actually get picked up by a publisher, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a harder time getting people to read your original fiction than to play your VN. How do you expect them to notice you?

Is there a way to mix the two?

... write both, since no one is stopping you?

[Dollywitch]

Kind of, but more in general is it worth getting my story out in that medium if it's going to reach less people?

VNs seem to be the more ideal medium to be because I keep imagining a visual element that I couldn't get with a novel, though given the added difficulty of finding an artist, doing music, routes etc., it seems like a lot of work if it doesn't pay off.

[Anna]

Kind of, but more in general is it worth getting my story out in that medium if it's going to reach less people?

VNs seem to be the more ideal medium to be because I keep imagining a visual element that I couldn't get with a novel, though given the added difficulty of finding an artist, doing music, routes etc., it seems like a lot of work if it doesn't pay off.

Doesn't pay off...? When does it pay off then? I thought the main reason to create a VN was because people want to create one/because it's cooler or more fun to do. If you think it's too much of a chore, why bother?

[PyTom]

Kind of, but more in general is it worth getting my story out in that medium if it's going to reach less people?

Will it?

From what I understand, the first print run of a first novel is often 4,000 to 5,000 copies. So that's not a huge number of people reached by that means. A free VN - if you put some publicity behind it - will easily surpass that. I don't know the audience size for paid VNs, but I think it's that order of magnitude, if not that high. (I could be wrong, though - people tend not to give out sales figures.)

[Anna]

I heard That Cheap and Sacred Thing was a relatively successful and free VN. Look below in the first post of its topic, at how many times it was downloaded to get an idea of what's possible? ;)

http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 11&t=10574

[VagueZ]

Depends what you're doing, I suppose. It's hard to get attention in any creative industry, though the internet and associated things do make it easier to get word out there that you've got something to show.

Not being a published author myself, I don't have a really great grasp of what a publishing house would want from a writer, though I can say that they have a lot to choose from. There's a lot of people submitting something they'd like to see published. Given that, I wouldn't be too surprised if having previous works for your story that you released online might be a bit of a black mark--it could make things a little more of a mess as far as who has rights for what, and the publishers are going to be risk-averse and want the easy route.

If you're using vanity press or print-on-demand, that's not an issue, of course, but that's probably not what you're hoping for, right?

If you have some concept that you really want to try to get into Barnes & Noble or the like, it's probably better to not release anything obviously associated with it as a VN. It really just depends on what you're trying to do, though.

[Funnyguts]

I read the thread title wrong and thought it was about bashing your internet provider in a VN.

If you think your story fits best as a visual novel, make it a visual novel. If you think it works better animated or drawn or a normal novel or maybe a first person shooter or a roguelike or whatever, go with that. When I think about what I want to make, my choice of medium is always what I think will be the best way for my stories and ideas to be presented and utilized.

To justify it, you need to have decent art or music, and generally have quite a few meaningful choices, which isn't something I'm able to implement in some of my more linear stories.

People will complain about bad art and music in any medium that uses them. If that's a problem for you, make a text adventure instead of a VN. If you can't implement choices in your more linear stories and you think a KN would mean you wouldn't get as recognized, maybe you should write a traditional novel, or make it a comic or something.

[DaFool]

Print media is dying... you'd be lucky to be able to publish as an e-book at least. And many e-books can be served just as well on tablets with accompanying pictures and music.

See this? This was originally going to be a visual novel
http://www.amazon.com/Camp-Handiba-eboo ... 235&sr=8-1
With no reviews, I don't think it's exactly popular.

People today don't read. Maybe entice them with a picture or something (e.g. light novel format)
I'd say, go for NVL, and limit your pictures and music.

[redeyesblackpanda]

From what I've seen, there are VNs on the app store for ipad and iphone. If you make a good OELVN, you'd probably be able to sell quite a few on the app store. From my stalking of the store, I've only found Japanese language VNs and poorly translated/written English ones. You might not want to charge 20-40 dollars though . A lot of people can't seem to appreciate VNs at that price (there are a bunch of complaints in the comments section for those games).

[KomiTsuku]

Print media is dying... you'd be lucky to be able to publish as an e-book at least. And many e-books can be served just as well on tablets with accompanying pictures and music.

See above. Personally, I'd rather get on the evolving bandwagon now than later. It might not be getting a lot of attention right now, but I'm willing to give my forecast that it will as time and the evolution of the genre continues.

Edit: It is what I am doing with the "Katajion" series stuff. I'm willing to bank my IP that it can survive and thrive in a digital medium. It's why I will sooner or later convert the text stories into digital ones.

[Onomatopoeia]

This is what I'm worrying about now. As an indie thing, the OELVN community is fine, but for people who really have an idea, universe or set of characters to get out there - is this the best way of doing it?

I think that really depends on what it is you want to happen with your work. I'm afraid this is my first post here, so I don't know you well enough to see if this is your first project or not. (Research? Pfffft.)

I know your reply to papillon was that you had "kinda" wanted to have more exposure with your story/idea/characters, but to what end? To change the world? To bring certain issues to light? Or to become mega-awesome-famous? Some authors/game-makers/artists, I've noticed just have a paralyzing fear that someone will see the work they've put out and steal it, and sell it for his or her own.

I agree with papillon, nothing is stopping you from doing both. I'll take it a step further, I encourage you to do both. Think about how many times you've seen a good movie and realized it was actually based off a even better book? Or even played a video game to find that there's a whole wealth of resources and movies that go along with the story.

More mediums = More exposure

To justify it, you need to have decent art or music, and generally have quite a few meaningful choices, which isn't something I'm able to implement in some of my more linear stories.

A lot of people have given some great ideas here on help you with that. I agree with all of them.

I read the thread title wrong and thought it was about bashing your internet provider in a VN.

I DID TOO!

[Reikun]

I think to decide whether or not it's "worth it" to invest your IP in the VN medium depends on your reasons for using the VN medium in the first place. There are many reasons why people chose to express their stories as VNs versus comics or novels. I'm curious as to your reason for considering the VN medium, if you don't mind sharing.

[Dollywitch]

As I explained it's a good go between a full on comic and novel, and the story and characters seem to fit quite well with some of the popular visual novels I've read.

[Reikun]

As I explained it's a good go between a full on comic and novel, and the story and characters seem to fit quite well with some of the popular visual novels I've read.

I see :0
Well, even if your IP for the story/universe is initially created as a visual novel, that won't stop it from evolving to other mediums (ex. series that have games/light novels/anime/manga/merchandise/etc.) if you want it to. While it might be off-putting for most publishers to pick up your stuff if you've already put it out to the public, if you do good work, some publishers will take you on board even if your were previously self-published or with a different publisher.

A good example is Yuumei on deviantart. She was putting her comics/stories out on her own, but she caught 4de's attention and they're publishing her stuff now :B I think it's the same story with vert-is-ninja's "Hanna is not a boy's name."

Another example might be Stan Sakai's "Usagi Yojimbo", which was originally published by Fantagraphics, but is now published by Dark Horse (but I don't really know the exact story for this case)