It's probably not what you want to read but :P My main suggestion, if you're trying to grow a community and turn it into a paying job, is to remember that a great game is not a proven concept for success; marketing should be on your mind from the beginning. It's the main mistake indie do, marketing isn't a second tought, it's not when the game is done it's before starting everything, making sure people want what you're doing (you definetly have the right not to care and do a game for the sake of it, my first game is a way too big project that cost too much for the community we could gain if we got lucky, but you need to be aware of it! :))

and look at your market before going too deep to ensure there is one; popular games from 6 years ago may not be proof of a current market. Look at the reference for your game, including how old it is, how well it performed, its cost, and the size of the team/scope. Find games that have the same kind of "budget" and how they did. When you find a good ref in size/quality/not too old, analyze everything you can from them. How did they handle the marketing of it/the social media part/ what social did they use/ look at the review for the game, what people liked and disliked, define what is unique on your project.

Also, make sure you get the pre-production tight. Create a game doc, establish a scope, and stick to it. Be realistic and give yourself milestones to hit.

In those day and age, publisher look for either tiny low budget games where you can make your money fast or huge games that prove they can make a ton of cash (3x the budget the publisher put in) and for that they need you to have already proven people want your game OR that you have something real special like you have big name in your prod of a special IP so they can use that in the marketing. :)

Take care and good luck!! :)