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

[Vatina]

Everything ameliori said is too true.... all you need to know.

From someone who has also done both.

[Dragonstar89]

Get job. Make money. Keep saving. Have lots of money. Use some money to better your visual novels. Make stunning VNs as a result. Sell them. Make crowds go wild. Make even more money a.k.a profit. Retire at the ripe age of 20+~ish. Enjoy the good life.

[Akai85]

Seconding what everyone said about both and Uncle Mugen's post.

I was actually thinking earlier - There were some rad Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals if you know where to look and if you buy the right products you can definitely resell them higher. (One pair of headphones I got had a discount of $90, you discount $40 from rrp and resell - you gain $50)Taking advantage of sales you could always buy popular products (google sale figures online) and purchase discounted in bulk. Of course not the most stable thing to do unless you know what you're doing due to price flunctuations and the constant release of new products but if you buy smart like Uncle Mugen, something that people always need, you should do pretty well. I know for a fact I don't buy anything online unless it's on sale and people love saving money! There's also some products that are favourites with people for quality/fulfilling a need and will continue to be. For example: Investing in large quantities of Iphone6 (not smart) vs investing in a popular speaker set with the audiophile crowd that gets frequently recommended and has been for more than 9 months (smarter). Don't invest in new products either - who knows how well they'll turn out...

Though you still have to factor in profit margins, delivery times and shipping costs! Definitely not a path for the business obtuse - i.e. me. I was wishfully thinking on all this... while waiting to hear back about part-time work, myself. Aren't entrepreneurs/self-employed business owners great? You really gotta admire them...

[BlueWolfie]

The America economy isn't growing fast enough. Sometimes it hard to a find job. Some places don't have a job openings. You are stuck and struggling to find a job.
What should you do if your time management fails such as Job, income, marriage, etc?

Should you do like JK Rowling writing a Renpy Games or Find a low level Job quit American Dream?

1) Do you have money saved up to last atleast 6 months - 1 year? Y/N

If Y, then move down. If N, then GET A JOB.

2) Do you have a solid plan and strategy written down how you are going to develop, market and sell your VN? Y/N

If Y, then move down. If N, then GET A JOB.

3) Do you think you can recruit, motivate and keep reliable team members for your VN? Y/N

If Y, then by all means, proceed with making and selling your VN.

If N, then GET A JOB.

[Morhighan]

As someone who cannot work due to my health (and is still not on disability) I'd suggest that you get a job. It's something that many people can take for granted, and if you work part time, you'll have time enough to work on the game.
I wish I could have a regular income, it would help with my game so very much.

[Mad Harlequin]

1) Do you have money saved up to last at least 6 months - 1 year? Y/N

If Y, then move down. If N, then GET A JOB.

2) Do you have a solid plan and strategy written down how you are going to develop, market and sell your VN? Y/N

If Y, then move down. If N, then GET A JOB.

3) Do you think you can recruit, motivate and keep reliable team members for your VN? Y/N

If Y, then by all means, proceed with making and selling your VN.

If N, then GET A JOB.

This is probably my favorite post in the entire thread. That being said, I recommend shedding the illusion that you'll become self-sufficient on visual novels alone, because you won't---not without the necessary resources and business acumen. And even with those things, there is always going to be a risk of failure.

[Kharon]

I'm going to go with the crowd here:

if(unemployed) { find(job); }

Period. The flowchart suggested is fine and the only alternative to this. If you are unemployed and broke, lack a plan, and lack the skills to run a team, you will not get out of unemployment or being broke by writing VNs. I mean, maybe if you can bring yourself to churn out a full VN every month, you could have enough income in a couple of years to earn a living, but those would be fairly bare-bones VNs unless you're putting around 16 hours a day, every day, into them. If you do find yourself at that work rate, I'd hope you really love writing VNs, because if you don't, you are almost certain to burn-out before you have enough published to support yourself. Even if you do, you may still burn-out what with needing a new idea every month without ever stopping or taking a break.

With that in mind, I am not saying you should "quit (the) American Dream" by any means. Just that having a job and financial security is the key to getting ahead. You don't typically go from penniless to making a comfortable living as easily as a snap of your fingers. You have to work at it, and if you want to do so while following your dreams, you have to work even harder. Think about the hardest job you can imagine. Now multiply that by ten. Because if you want to make a living off your dream you need to be an idea man, you need to be able to make things, you need to do marketing and people management and outsource the things you can't do with finances that you need to manage in a budget, you need to network and meet people, people who can help you, people who can connect you to other people, people who can increase your marketing. You also need to do quality testing and make sure yoru prioduct not only works, but is good enough for your standards. For a VN, here's a short list of what a one-man team has to do:

* Writing
** Write a story
** Proofread and edit the story
** If the game branches, write at least one other story from the same starting point
** Proofread and edit the branches
** Once all branches are written, adapt the full story to a script
** Time the story by reading it aloud, without any scripting
** Note where you want pauses, animations, etc.

* Artwork
** Create artwork for a title screen
** Create background images
** Create character images
** Create a consistent UI
** Create any other misc. images your VN needs like items or particles

* Coding
** Create a timed script
** Create menus and jump destinations
** Code your UI
** Code any animations you need
** Code any minigames or special events that you need
** Fix as many errors as possible for every pass through the Quality Control process

* Quality Control
** Play your game with a critical eye for bugs, typos, timing, misplaced animations, etc.
** Test as many branches (ideally all!) of the story as possible
** Review the story and branches for plot holes and other inconsistencies
** Make sure the UI fits the game and responds well

* Presence & Marketing
** Create (and maintain) a website
** Reach out to press (Any gaming news sites)
** Reach out to the market and community (Steam, Kickstarter, Patreon)
** Advertise your game
** Keep your presence in all of the above areas up to date

All of the above assumes you work on it alone. No public testing for QC, nobody to help you establish or maintain your presence, nobody to help you get artwork or story or code completed. If you add other people you start needing to be a manager, and you need to start budgeting and dealing with finances if any of those people need or expect to be paid (even if that pay is in a share of future profits). Do you think you can handle all of that and more? Because if so, then you may be cut out for trying to make a living from writing VNs. If not, though... Keep it a hobby from which you might be able to earn some extra spending money.

[Vatina]

Even saving up for 6 months won't give you enough time to become self-sufficient, unless you are incredibly lucky somehow. Take a part-time job if possible, at least.

[Doedelzak]

I don't think making a living only with your VNs is an ideal situation. The main reason is that once you become a professionnal dev, you must earn money from your works. And most of the time, you have to make compromises to do so. If originality doesn't bring you money, you will do shitty commercial games just because you have to eat. Having a job is a time loss, but a gain of freedom in your projects.


As for me, I have a job. I asked my boss for 4 days a week, instead of 5 (with -20% salary, of course). He accepted and it is really cool now. I have 3 days on week-ends.

To deal with fatigue on work days, I found a solution. Working on my VN the evening was a pain in the ass : I was too tired and just wanted to relax after work. For now, I wake up early in the morning (5:00) and work 3 hours on my projects before preparing myself and leave home (at 8:40). After work, I go to bed early.

That way, the fatigue affects my job, and not my projects. For them, I'm in good form (although some coffee is needed, I confess). Since my projects are more important for me than my job, everything is fine. Sorry boss, hehehe.

In short, same conclusion as many others here : get a job, really. It helps more than it restrains.

[Rozume]

But what if you can't get a job? What if that option is not feasible?

I have Major Depression and PTSD so it's really difficult for me to find a job job and keep it. I really tried to get a real job in the past, but I was let go due to the fact that I looked "panicked" all the time. In addition, I recently left my work study due to my depression taking its toll.

So sometimes it's easier to say "Well, get a job" but it's harder to actually get one, especially if you're someone like me.

Anyway, I do want to make a living selling visual novels - sure, it's going to be difficult but starting a business from the ground up is already difficult. I'm not discouraged. I'll just keep working at it and working at it until it happens.

[Vatina]

Well if you can't get a job, then there's not really a choice there. Just make VNs if you want to!

[badbaddon]

Oh I realize this was a while ago and I've only recently heard about this but I'm going to suggest it anyways. Why not try and make a Patreon account? Think of it this way. You can be working a job, making your visual novel, AND have a fan base that donates to you because they like your content!

Of course don't expect this to work out instantly and it might not sustain you forever but it can help. Just remember not to put all your faith into this and educate yourself first. This is still a lot of hard work and it takes time! My other suggestion would be gaining more skills, don't just limit yourself to one or two things. This too will take time but you can definitely do it. The more you can do, the more you can make!

I hope this helps. Good luck to you and remember there's always more then just two options!