Unemployed... Should you get a job or Sell Visual Novel?

[Biomass]

Chances are, if you are in that destitute situation you are only going to be able to find low level part-time jobs with practically no hours anyway. It's a new business trend where companies will refuse to take on full time employees so they can avoid paying certain benefits required by law. Since you are going to be working way less than 8 hours a day, that leaves plenty of time to do VN work on the side. You might as well have the job, just for the income.

[Rossfellow]

You can work on your VN while you have a job. If you're willing to sacrifice things like anime, gaming, social media surfing and other common timesinks you'll be able to progress.

I work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. It really angers me to no end when people complain "I'd love to work on it if I had time!" But then I see them get lost in Netflix or some other MMO up on Steam for hours or days on end.

[Tyrantauranox]

I'd consider working part-time for a few hours a day, then devoting the rest of your time to your VN (saving a bit for R&R).

[Lumella]

It's better to find a job but there are other options aside from selling VN. If you're skilled in cooking or arts, you can sell your services to get some freelance jobs or make your own little business if you can't find a job so soon.

I tried selling cupcakes and soft chewy cookies last Christmas. They were bestsellers. Up until now, people are still asking me if I still take orders. I'm on a diet so I stopped taking orders but once in awhile people would still contact me for them.

[Nathan]

You could do both at once but focus more on getting a stable job.

[Chocopyro]

Why not both? It's not like selling (or do you mean MAKING) visual novels must be a full time job. You can find job and while at that, start making visual novels and raking up experiences. It's always nice to have options

You could do both at once but focus more on getting a stable job.

I third these comments. A warehouse job is awesome to support yourself for a VN production. I mean I work about 30 hours a week, with frequent options for overtime of up to 40-60 hours when I need it. Otherwise I just work 3 days in a week and spend the remaining four days working on side projects. Its like if I need time, I could turn down overtime, and on days where there's hardly any work, I get offered paid time off. If I need money, I could put in a few extra days. And even better, if you're looking to be hired, this is about the time of the year where many distribution centers need seasonal employees and hire in mass. (And I signed on as a seasonal then ended up getting hired full-time.)

Those are the kind of jobs you want to look for if you plan on making a VN. The ones where you can fluctuate between what you need easily, whether it be money to support yourself or your game, or time to work on the game as needed.

[PyTom]

Just remember - the best way to make a small fortune in visual novel creation is to start with a large fortune.

[naqlada]

It's a new business trend where companies will refuse to take on full time employees so they can avoid paying certain benefits required by law.

It's hardly new. This kind of 'creative greed' predates all of us here.

You've some good advice here. Being creative and seeing it through is key. It's easy to stop/start things.

[Catalyst Edge Gaming]

Do both, you can have a job to make money now and work on novels for money here while there and growing your visual novel reputation for more money later on.

[CrimsonMoon]

Both. It's pretty hard to find a job these days, but there are part time jobs. Just keep searching for a job while doing visual novels.

[Sakai]

Obviously both... I've been doing it for one year and now that I've lost my job to health my project is taking heavy loss on time as I am unable to pay those who need to be paid for the work until I find new one. If you want to make quality VN you have to have funds for it to sell it, if you wont have funds how will you make it? (Yea there is kickstarter but I don't like it myself. I want to create my own game with my own hardly worked money.)

I third these comments. A warehouse job is awesome to support yourself for a VN production. I mean I work about 30 hours a week, with frequent options for overtime of up to 40-60 hours when I need it. Otherwise I just work 3 days in a week and spend the remaining four days working on side projects. Its like if I need time, I could turn down overtime, and on days where there's hardly any work, I get offered paid time off. If I need money, I could put in a few extra days. And even better, if you're looking to be hired, this is about the time of the year where many distribution centers need seasonal employees and hire in mass. (And I signed on as a seasonal then ended up getting hired full-time.)

That what I did myself. But it is harsh workplace especially if its stressful workplace, the good thing about it is that it was paid well but it didn't pay off well to my health.

Good luck to you out there.

[lacelazier]

At first, I would say both, but I would advise you to choose just one. Though, I second Mugen's post. The key word here is 'focus'.

Sure, you may get a job and do a VN at the same time, but saying that both can be done is easier said than done. Kudos to people who can! But I don't believe that an individual can do both things successfully. After all, working full-time can be physically straining, and the hours you can spend to rest from a hard day's work, you spend making a visual novel. I would say it will be very difficult to juggle.

So I would say to pick a focus. Can you really commit to making visual novels in the long run? There is also the financial aspect, especially if you will make a commercial game. Games take a lot of time to develop, so weigh out the odds whether it will be beneficial for you to focus on a job and save money, or stake everything in developing a visual novel. Only you can answer that because you are the judge of your own capabilities

Whatever you decide, good luck! ^^

[ArachneJericho]

Yes, it can indeed be an either-or situation.

Unless you are already awesome at visual novels and have a slush fund set up to front the few thousands of dollars it takes to kickstart one that will actually survive its own Kickstarter campaign, get a job.

However, I am totally aware that getting a job in America usually means getting two or three jobs, which means no sane time left for visual novel work.

My previous job worked me to the bone without overtime pay, which meant almost no time for visual novel work unless I wanted to sacrifice eating and sleeping from time to time (hint: I did, until work deteriorated my health to the point where couldn't anymore).

But basically, if you have no money, you aren't going to succeed at commercializing VNs into a self-sustaining piece of business.

[ameliori]

Here is your path:

VN Route:
> Live with Parents. (Fun.=-=)
> Minimize spending
> Hermit mode ON
> Research, study VN in general which can be pretty exhausting
> Use little money you have to invest in VNs (they will not be good)
> Live with shame and general dissatisfaction
> Battle self doubt, procrastination, sleeping in, getting distracted by Netflix, your phone, your S.O., youtube, forums, etc.
> Despite this, savor the sense of accomplishment while making your game
> Repeat until successful OR Parents kick you out
> BIGGEST PROBLEM: Low self esteem/Lack of focus
> BIGGEST STRENGTH: You have nowhere else to go, so you are more motivated to succeed

> Rewards: Faster production of game, more thoughtful and detailed games (taken you do it right), Living the dream

Work Route:

> Schedule time between work and VN. Exhaustion evident.
> Work on VN anywhere from 3-4 hours per day on weekdays, and 6-8 hours on weekends
> Sloooow production
> Anti-social tendencies
> Battle impatience and general dissatisfaction
> Tendency to never finish projects started
> Fatigue, low social life and self-doubt
> Despite this, you have money to fund your game and have the organizational skills to get a project moving
> Repeat until successful OR until you degrade "VN's" into a fun hobby rather than a goal
> BIGGEST PROBLEM: Distraction/Time management
> BIGGEST STRENGTH: You have the resources to build a worthwhile game

> Rewards: Security, quality because you have money to spend, confidence

From: Somebody who has tried both!

[Lesleigh63]

Another option is to start out with the VN as a hobby, get a good education, get a good paying job and then see if you can go to 4 days a week rather than 5. I did this. Told my work I didn't have enough to do and could I go to 4 days a week (they jumped at it as it saved them a lot of money and the work still gets done). It gives me a day which I treat as a 'work day' to work on my VN and I'm still able to live and pay the bills.