How to Find an Audience

[Katy133]

Say you know someone who has just made their first visual novel. What sort of advice/tips would you give them to help their visual novel reach out and find people who would be interested in playing it?

[Sakai]

Spread the news about it of course! IndieDB & other indie sites is a good idea and so is other visual novel forums/sites & twitter however there is a minus to it, you can get criticized a lot so is getting hate from people who have nothing better to do and moan about their lifes.

I was a youtuber before so youtube is my second source of getting an audience So try maybe that! Look for people who play VN's and ask them if they would like to check it out!

[fleet]

Post a topic about it here at LSF in the Completed games section (or if it's adults only, in the appropriate adult completed game section).
Be sure to either attach the VN as an uploaded file or include a link to the game, some pictures of the artwork, and at least a paragraph describing the main character and a very brief plot teaser. Check some of the descriptions that already exist in those forums and imitate ones that you think provide enough information.
I wish you success.

[gekiganwing]

What sort of advice/tips would you give them to help their visual novel reach out and find people who would be interested in playing it?

Good question. I would suggest the following:

* Work on an elevator pitch. In other words, summarize your story / gameplay in a positive way.

* Compare it to published works in ways that are accurate and flattering. (You don't want your project to seem like an imitation.)

* Search for potential fans outside of current VN fandom. Make sure they know useful information: what sort of story/game it is, length, content ratings, etc.

* Look for beta readers and testers.

* Be confident yet polite. Don't let your ego write checks which your group or VN can't cash.

The following challenges exist:

* Some fans have very specific tastes. They're only looking for certain types of art, story, gameplay, etc. Remember that it's impossible to please everyone.

* Promoting your commercial work at fan conventions isn't easy. Ask anyone who's tried. (I've purchased a disc of X-Note from Zeiva Inc at a con, and I hope to support other indie groups soon.)

* It's sometimes easier to sell prose, comics, and complex video games. Remember that not everyone will acknowledge the work you consider your masterpiece. A simple but amusing spinoff Flash game can become famous even while its original inspiration lingers in obscurity.

[Tempus]

I'm just listing this stuff off the top of my head so don't take this as definitive or anything. Also kind in mind that I'm treating this as a super serious project for the purposes of this post so it might be a bit overkill in some respects:

• Don't limit yourself to one or a few sites -- at least initially. Ask around and make a list of the different ways you can reach people. In no particular order here's some I can think of: Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, IndieDB, Lemma Soft Forums, 4chan, YouTube, DeviantArt, and so on. Additionally, there's many game news sites and journalists who can be contact as well as a number of guides available for doing so.
• Make contacts with other devs. It just really helps. Also make a distinction -- at least in your own mind -- about useful contacts vs. less useful contacts. If someone has been toiling away in obscurity for 10 years with little success they're not going to be a particularly useful person to know when it comes to promoting yourself. Getting a mention by well known dev will help much more. Socialising isn't really my forte so I don't have a great deal of tips in this regard. A lot of the few contacts I have come from people who I've done favours for such as helping them with a personal project or working on the same project. Part of the reason I helped them is because I liked them or their project or at least think it has potential.
• Present yourself well. Take the time to make your profiles and posts clear and aesthetically pleasing. Cross link your profiles -- people should be able to find the Twitter profile from the YouTube one and so on. Any post or website should be formatted so it's easy to read and / or use.
• Be prepared for criticism or plain hate. Criticism is useful, though it's not always delivered tactful. Try to at least acknowledge criticism, and if you think it's a good point, act on it. Don't get angry or upset over it. With regards to hate just ignore it. Again, don't get upset or try to fight it. But if it's basically impossible to ignore just agree with it, e.g.:
  
  • "You're such a bitch!"
    "Well, you got me there. If there's one thing I am, it's such a bitch."
  After you agree with them they have nowhere to go.

[LeetMusic]

Reaching other devs is great but an extremely limited audience. Has anyone had success getting coverage on a site that reviews games? Has anyone had success working with a publicist?

[TrickWithAKnife]

I think all the advice so far has been good. If there is anything unusual about your game, perhaps you can search for groups with similar interests.

For example, my project functions as a guide for people who are planning to spend time in Japan, so I'll be hitting up a lot of Japanese study forums.

If I was working on a horror VN, I'd try searching for fans of horror stories.