{"id":12258,"date":"2018-02-07T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gamasutra.com\/view\/news\/314366"},"modified":"2018-02-07T09:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T09:00:00","slug":"always-be-pitching-how-to-find-and-talk-to-publishers-to-survive-as-an-indie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/02\/07\/always-be-pitching-how-to-find-and-talk-to-publishers-to-survive-as-an-indie\/","title":{"rendered":"Always Be Pitching: How to find and talk to publishers to survive as an indie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well here I am, talking to publishers again.<\/p>\n

I thought that time was over, because as I\u2019ve said before,\u00a0I believe most publishers aren\u2019t that helpful for indies<\/a> past the money they provide. I still think this is mostly true. But guess what \u2013 that money has to come from somewhere, and these days it sure isn\u2019t coming from selling indie games.<\/p>\n

Since money is so tough to come by through direct sales as an independent developer, money from publishers, and the fanbase and access that comes with their influence, can be a big decider of success. Even that slight edge you get from being \u201ca Devolver game\u201d or \u201can Atlus game\u201d can be a big boon, and help set you up for future success.<\/p>\n

On top of that, consoles are important again. Since there are fewer games released on console, you\u2019ve got a better shot at getting a slice of the pie. Unfortunately, some platforms remain gated behind devkits that can be difficult to acquire if you\u2019re not you\u2019re well connected. Publishers often have a lot more sway than your average indie when it comes to getting these kits.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019m at it again, pitching to a bunch of publishers simultaneously. And as I do, I figure I should share with you some of the ways that I use speaking with publishers to keep my company afloat, as I see a lot of folks making basic missteps.<\/p>\n

The first step is even finding someone to pitch to, which can be tough on its own. Of course you\u2019d like to have Atlus publish your RPG, SNK publish your fighting game, and Sega publish your platform game, but the likelihood is slim, as they have limited capacity, and every other developer is thinking the same dang thing. So unless you get lucky with one of those, you need to look further afield.<\/p>\n

New publishers and platforms are cropping up all the time. A few months ago, nobody knew who Dispatch Games<\/a> was. But now they\u2019ve released one remake of a classic puzzle game (Soldam<\/em>), and are poised to release another, with one of the most delightful trailers I\u2019ve seen in a while.<\/p>\n

[embedded content]<\/p>\n

A trailer for Dispatch Games’\u00a0<\/em>Penguin Wars<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve got to be paying attention in order to find these publishers. Of course doing your own leg work is nice, but my main piece of advice here is to check in with fellow struggling indies. If they\u2019re worth their salt, they\u2019re hustling too. They may know of publishers you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Use any lists or groups you may be a part of. I just got added to a list of alums from the Busan Indie Connect festival in South Korea. The Switch is about to come out in that territory, so the very first thing I did was ask if anyone had a line through to some Korean publishers interested in publishing Switch games. I got three names, and off I went to talk to them. Regional publishers can be really useful in getting you a bit of extra revenue out of a game you\u2019ve already made.<\/p>\n

But of course, if you\u2019re asking people for info, share and share alike. Recently a buddy and I were discussing what options there are for funding, and he gave me some suggestions I hadn\u2019t heard of \u2013 but was also speculating about who ran a given publisher. Turns out I knew exactly who ran it and had their info. One intro later, that\u2019s another conversation avenue for them.<\/p>\n

Others have written longer and better articles on the art of the pitch, so I won\u2019t get too far into the specifics. What I will say is, not to be a jerk, but treat it like you\u2019re making a children\u2019s book. Big photos with one or two big bullet points per page. Easy to understand means easy to pitch.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A page from a recent pitch doc<\/em><\/p>\n

You should pitch as often as you can, in any context you can. If I\u2019m at a trade show, I bring pitch documents and builds with me just in case the opportunity to show my games arises. If I hear of or meet a new publisher or platform holder, I show them the games we\u2019re up to.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve basically got to be pitching constantly, unless you\u2019ve got some solid income or a steady gig already. I say this because 95 percent\u00a0(napkin math) of your deals will fall through, and you\u2019ve got to have backups for your backups for your backups.<\/p>\n

\n
“You\u2019ve basically got to be pitching constantly, unless you\u2019ve got some solid income or a steady gig already. I say this because 95% (napkin math) of your deals will fall through, and you\u2019ve got to have backups for your backups for your backups.”<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is true for a few reasons. First, most publishers will reject your game. Getting deals is rare, which makes sense if you think about how many games are coming out daily at this point. So you can\u2019t count on pitching to just one perfect publisher \u2013 you\u2019ve got to hedge your bet and pitch to anyone you think might be even remotely interested.<\/p>\n

Second, publishers, and especially platforms, can change their business plans on a dime. At the end of this year and last year, we had near sure-thing dev contracts lined up that just wound up disappearing because the platform decided not to fund anything at all. It\u2019s not something to get mad about, it\u2019s just one of those things that often happens. Money was allocated to this thing, but a couple corproate decisions later, now no money is allocated to it. That\u2019s just the way of business!<\/p>\n

Third, publishers and platforms can take a while to get funding together. We just got a followup from a platform we began discussions with more than a year ago. You can\u2019t count on getting money fast, that is a rarity.<\/p>\n

Basically, always say yes, always be available, always have something to show. Pitching and prototyping is a delicate juggling act, but I always count myself as available, because like I said, 95 percent\u00a0of projects will fall through.<\/p>\n

If you wind up with too many projects, well\u2026 good for you, jerk!! Send something my way!! But seriously, it\u2019s rare to wind up with two projects accepted simultaneously as an indie, and you can always turn an opportunity down if you\u2019ve signed something else. This is part of why we have so many prototypes and betas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re always pitching, always talking to folks, you\u2019ve got to check in with the people you\u2019ve sent stuff to. Sometimes people don\u2019t get back to you without a poke!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always good to follow up on information you\u2019ve sent out. Whether it\u2019s a pitch you want feedback on, or a \u201chandshake\u201d deal you\u2019ve agreed to. Don\u2019t pepper your contacts with emails daily, but do check in at reasonable intervals. Not only will you get your information a little faster, your name will be a bit more top-of-mind to the people you\u2019re pitching (which is a good thing as long as you\u2019re not annoying!).<\/p>\n

In cases where you\u2019ve \u201cbasically\u201d agreed to do something already, it\u2019s good to check in periodically to make sure those things are still happening, especially if you\u2019ve not signed a contract. It may be annoying to do, but that\u2019s how you find things out. Through check-ins in just this past week I\u2019ve learned:<\/p>\n

– An invoice I assumed would be paid by X date was in fact planned for 3 months later. I got it sorted, but only because I asked.<\/p>\n

– A publisher I hadn\u2019t talked to in many months is now one month away from being able to sign new projects.<\/p>\n

– The Korean Switch market will begin as physical releases only.<\/p>\n

– A deal I thought was happening isn\u2019t. Better to know sooner than later.<\/p>\n

– Three publishers I hadn\u2019t thought of in a while are actively looking for games again.<\/p>\n

– A deal I haven\u2019t signed yet is still going ahead as planned, for now.<\/p>\n

– A package deal I was going to be part of got sidelined by corporate shuffling at a platform.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gunhouse just came out for Switch in the US. We can bring it to other territories because we asked questions!<\/em><\/p>\n

I give these examples just to show the value of checking in. If I didn\u2019t ask these questions, I would\u2019ve been alternately screwed, or totally in the dark about all these things that are basically vital for my company. Nobody was going to come to me to tell me this stuff. I\u2019ve had friends who just waited on their hands for people and publishers to get back to them, and none of them are running their own studios anymore.<\/p>\n

Try to keep your self-imposed deadlines. I sent a few publishers notice that I\u2019d get them a prototype in a week, to gauge their interest. They all wanted to see it \u2013 then I took an extra week and a day to deliver. Not great. Set reasonable (and potentially vaguer) goals!<\/p>\n

\n
“Say yes to everything that fits your parameters, get that money, and maybe you\u2019ll live to scrape by for another day!!!”<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Don\u2019t play publishers off each other.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard plenty of discussion about this across various lists, but it just doesn\u2019t work, and it can sour publishers to you. Say I\u2019m talking to Devolver and Adult Swim, and I really want Devolver to publish my game. If I tell them, \u201cyou know, Adult Swim is really interested in this, so you should make your decision quickly.\u201d If I\u2019m Devolver, and I\u2019m at all on the fence about your game, or too busy, or there\u2019s any minor roadblock, I\u2019ll think \u201cOh great! Let Adult Swim do it then, and I don\u2019t have to feel bad turning this down.\u201d So do be transparent that you\u2019re pitching multiple companies, but don\u2019t pretend one company is about to sign you unless they really are.<\/p>\n

Figure out who can actually help you, and how. Is this actually enough money to finish your game? Is their revshare deal good? If you finish a game and it sells zero copies, how long can you survive after that? Does this publisher have marketing chops? If not, do they at least have reach? If not to either of those, can they at least pay for a trailer? Will they let you lead the marketing or do you want them to do the lifting? Most publishers won\u2019t be able to do all these things at once, so figure out what\u2019s important to you.<\/p>\n

Ask others about the publisher\u2019s reputation. Are they good to work with? Do they pay on time? Are they at all likely of disappearing tomorrow? How friendly is their contract? This is real important stuff to know, and if you can press your network for any of this, you\u2019ll be in a better position.<\/p>\n

So: Say yes to everything that fits your parameters, get that money, and maybe you\u2019ll live to scrape by for another day!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well here I am, talking to publishers again. I thought that time was over, because as I\u2019ve said before,\u00a0I believe most publishers aren\u2019t that helpful for indies past the money they provide. I still think this is mostly true. But guess what \u2013 that money has to come from somewhere, and these days it sure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}