Hello BGDF!
I am happy to be a new member of this community. I have been designing and publishing games for over a decade, including Ascension, Solforge, the World of Warcraft miniatures game, the Vs. System Trading Card Game, and my newest game releasing at Gencon next week, Bad Beets.
I will be doing a Reddit AMA this Friday at 1PM Pacific Time. What questions would you most want answered around game design, development, production, running a game company, etc.? If the questions are more involved than I can get to there, I'll work on a longer response and post a link on my twitter @Justin_Gary
I look forward to answering some of your questions and to being a part of this community
-Justin Gary
CEO Stone Blade Entertainment
Since all of these questions revolve around publishing, I will just start by giving a few tips:
1. Pitching publishers at conventions is a good idea. Gencon this week is a great opportunity. Often there are people there that can review your games or at least who can connect you to people who can. It is far harder to say no to someone in person than over email.
2. Be respectful! Every publisher has a ton of demands on their time and gets a ton of game pitches. Be respectful and kind even if they don't have a chance to review your game. Ask for contact info and be ready to follow up after the show. Offer to send a copy of the game and rules for them to review.
3. Have a good elevator pitch. Your game idea should be easy to communicate by referencing something they know and something original (e.g. its a deckbuilding game with magic combat and plays in 30 minutes). Nice looking art / prototypes can help a lot too but isn't necessary.
4. Be able to explain the core of your game in 15 minutes or less (really should be 5 minutes)- Publishers are busy and they will judge your game in the first 5-15 minutes. If you can't get the core game loop across in 15 minutes, you will not sell your game. This doesn't mean that the game has to be playable in 15 minutes, just that it can be explained and understood.
5. Develop relationships and add value- a lot of times the best way to get in front of publishers is to volunteer. Contribute value by helping out at conventions, doing QA testing, contributing articles and community forum posts, etc. Don't expect payment or immediate return- be kind, clearly communicate, exceed expectations, and be overall great to work with. Publishers will be FAR more likely to listen to your game pitch and help you get it to a purchasable point if they like you and you already help them.
6. Take feedback- if a publisher gives you feedback- don't argue with them! I see this all the time and I can't believe how much it happens. Take the feedback, say thank you, and ask them if they would be willing to review the game again if you addressed some of the issues. Everyone loves to have their opinion respected, and publishers will be more likely to take your game if they feel a sense of ownership and contribution to the final result.
Hope that is helpful!
-Justin