petey@umbc5.umbc.edu (04/09/90)
Hi, Im planning on writing some quality Public Domain software and plan to make a little bit of money for my effort. Has anyone does this, and how much can I expect to receive for my efforts? Petey
pfluegerm@valley.UUCP (Mike Pflueger) (04/11/90)
In article <3094@umbc3.UMBC.EDU>, petey@umbc5.umbc.edu writes: > Hi, > > Im planning on writing some quality Public Domain software and plan to make > a little bit of money for my effort. > Has anyone does this, and how much can I expect to receive for my efforts? > > > > Petey First, public domain is just that - you won't get any $$. I think what you're talking about is shareware - try it, pay me if you like it, else trash it. Second, from my experience, don't bother. It gets distributed quite widely, and VERY few people pay. These people then have the nerve to expect support for the software. Worst of all, you get companies like Educorp who get copies and distribute them FOR PROFIT without a) contacting you or asking permission in any manner, b) giving you any share of the profits, or c) verifying that what they're distributing is even functional. I saw several of my programs just pop up one day in their catalog and went through a lot of hassle trying to either be compensated or have them removed (one of the main things that bothered me was they had never contacted me and were distributing an incomplete and modified - non-functional - version of one of my programs and I got many calls from people who wanted support and believed they'd paid for the product). If you have a good enough product or fill a market niche, and want to make money, by all means go commercial. Don't bother with shareware if you want money, unless you make the program auto-disable or only semi-functional. People just won't pay. About 2 years ago, a MacUser (I think) person and a well-known Mac software author got together and wrote a professional quality HC stack and tried the shareware route. Although it was distributed and used all over the country, they only got a handful of responses - and again Educorp got a copy and was distributing it for profit without contacting the authors. My estimate is that out of 100 people who use the program, you'll only see money from about 1. I keep all my goodies to myself these days. -- Mike Pflueger @ AG Communication Systems (formerly GTE Comm. Sys.), Phoenix, AZ UUCP: {...!ames!ncar!noao!asuvax | uunet!hrc | att}!gtephx!pfluegerm Work: 602-582-7049 FAX: 602-581-4850 Packet: WD8KPZ @ W1FJI Internet: PLEASE USE UUCP PATH (NOT INTERNET)!