For Those of Us Making a Difference

Seth Godwin on paying for software:

I like paying for my software when I’m buying it from a company that’s responsive, fast and focused. I like being the customer (as opposed to a social network, where I’m the product). I spend most of my day working with tools that weren’t even in science fiction novels twenty-five years ago, and the money I spend on software is a bargain–doing this work without it is impossible.

Nine months in to selling my own software (Subtext for Writers), I’m constantly surprised by those who hold back because they feel it’s too expensive. I gladly pay for a lot of the same apps Seth calls out, and many more he doesn’t (Grammarly is too good not to support). And I do it because I understand that if I want more of this goodness, I need to do my part.

Most of all, I love the picture he paints of those of us working to make our particular niche in the world better:

In my experience, the great software companies are run by singleminded people who bend the physics of design to their will, creating powerful leverage for those that they serve. They are craftspeople, impatient with the status quo and eager to make things better.

James R. Hull @jhull