I have no idea how people do this for a living. It has become very clear to me that the people who are successful at this market, truly are gifted in too many ways. The best thing about this community is that we get to witness people like this on a daily basis.
I don't have much else to say, but if you are struggling to make a like-able game, look for inspiration and design concepts from those indie pros. They aren't prodigies that we might make them out to be; rather, they were gifted with the ability to start AND finish a great idea. Start simple, end simple :D
