“You either die a programmer, or you live long enough to see yourself build a text editor.”
—Harvey Dent (or someone)
Two weeks ago, I released TextBuddy – a new text editor for macOS. And now I’m finally getting around to sharing why I built it.
One of my goals for 2020 is figuring out a financial path forward for my little software business – particularly around how I price and sell my apps.
I’ve been mostly open about the fact that, for a few years, I was incredibly fortunate enough that my software business was successful enough to be my full-time job. I’ve also been pretty honest that sales started slipping in 2017 before cratering in 2018. The reasons for the decline are varied – some my fault, others outside of my control.
But this post is about figuring out what can work in the years ahead. And the genesis of that experiment began last July when I started planning in earnest and setting up the infrastructure to convert my main app to a subscription model.
The idea for this app started eleven months ago as a collection of PHP scripts and a giant Shortcuts.app shortcut. But I quickly realized it would be best served as a real iOS app. I’ve been working on it off and on since February and have teased it a few times publicly on Twitter.
But now I think I’m ready for broader feedback from outside my small group of testers. And hope that feedback will show that it’s useful to more people than just me.
The app is called Voxmail. And (I think?) it’s the first iOS email client that you can’t use on your phone.
If you need something to listen to this weekend or during your next commute, here’s a link to me prattling on for forty-six minutes about how and why I build the software I do.
Brett Terpstra was kind enough to invite me on as the guest of his Systematic podcast this week. And when he says I’m “on about the same level of geek frequency as” he is, well, that’s a heck of a compliment in my book.
While using one of my favorite iOS Shortcuts the other day, it occurred to me how much things have changed in six years.
I say six years ago specifically because it was in 2014 that I made an iOS app called Upshot.
Sadly, Upshot never saw the light of day because I couldn’t get it past App Review for very dumb reasons. Lucky for you though, after I show the ridiculously simple Shortcut that I now use instead, this gives me the opportunity to tell you my very favorite App Store rejection story.