





                              PROGRAMMER'S GUIDE

               Copyright 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991 by Nelson Ford

                               January 1, 1985
                          Major Update: January 1989
                           Continual Updating Since

                          Public (software) Library
                                P.O.Box 35705
                            Houston, TX 77235-5705
                                (713) 524-6394
                                      -
                             CompuServe 71355,470

                            Additional Material By
                            George Abbott  For The
                 Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP)

                 Copyright 1992-1993 by Nelson Ford & the ASP

          A limited license is granted to reprint short extracts from
          this guide as long as credit is given and a copy is sent to
          the address above.  Individuals may copy this guide for each
          other as long as no fee is charged.  Others including disk
          vendors, BBSs and User Groups may distribute copies of the
          unmodified self-extract GUIDE.EXE file as long as the file or
          its contents are NOT renamed, modified or made part of some
          larger work without the written permission of Nelson Ford.  A
          BBS May rearchive the unmodified GUIDE.DOC file that is
          contained within GUIDE.EXE as long as the resulting archive
          name is GUIDE.ZIP, GUIDE.LZH, GUIDE.ARC, GUIDE.???

                                     ----

          NOTICE:   ALL INFORMATION, TIPS AND ADVICE IN THIS GUIDE ARE
          PRESENTED TO "GUIDE" YOU INTO AREAS FOR YOU TO RESEARCH AND
          STUDY IN MORE DETAIL ON YOUR OWN.  IN NO CASE WILL NELSON
          FORD, THE ASP OR OTHER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS BE LIABLE FOR
          DAMAGES RESULTING FROM YOUR ACTING UPON INFORMATION THAT IS
          CONTAINED HEREIN. IN PARTICULAR, AN ATTORNEY SHOULD BE
          CONSULTED ON ANY QUESTIONS OF LAW BEFORE FOLLOWING ADVICE
          CONTAINED HEREIN.


         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


                              Table Of Contents

     1.   Forward  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    3
          1.1  Does Shareware Work?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    3

     2.   Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    4
          2.1  Going All Out Via Retail-Only . . . . . . . . . . . .    7
          2.3  Taking it Easy Via Shareware  . . . . . . . . . . . .    7
          2.4  Letting Someone Else Do It  . . . . . . . . . . . . .    8

     3.   Marketing Shareware  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    9
          3.1  Getting Publicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    9
          3.2  Sending Out Your Program  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   11
          3.3  Sending Out Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   12
          3.4  Check For Viruses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   13
          3.5  Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   14
          3.6  Direct Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   14
          3.7  A "Pure" Shareware Marketing Strategy . . . . . . . .   15
          3.8  Shareware vs Retail-Only Software . . . . . . . . . .   15
          3.9  The User's Point of View  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   16
          3.10 The Author's Point of View  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   17
          3.11 Do Users Pay? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   19
          3.12 Non-Shareware Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   22
          3.13 PD/Shareware Distributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   25
          3.14 Other Protective Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   28
               COPYRIGHTS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   28
               PATENTING SOFTWARE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   28
               TRADEMARKS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   29
               WARRANTIES  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   31
          3.15 Selling Registered Versions Through Shareware
               Distributors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   31
          3.16 Selling Registered Versions Through "Retail"
               Distributors/Dealers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   32
          3.17 Setting Prices  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   32
               Underpricing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   32
               Overpricing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   33
               The Cost of Alternatives  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   33
               Value To The User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   34
               Charge for Value to the User, Not for Your Time . . .   34
               Case Studies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   35
          3.18 Changing Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   36
          3.19 Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   36











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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


                        Table Of Contents (Continued)

     4.   Making Your Program User-Friendly  . . . . . . . . . . . .   37
          4.1  Installation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   37
          4.2  On-Screen Help  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   37
          4.3  Supply defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   38
          4.4  Trap errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   38
          4.5  Rules For Basic Programmers . . . . . . . . . . . . .   39
          4.6  Make The Program And Keys Work Naturally  . . . . . .   39
          4.7  Let The User Customize  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   40
          4.8  Keeping Your Files Together . . . . . . . . . . . . .   41
          4.9  Do NOT Use 1.2m Drives To Make 360k Disks . . . . . .   42

     5.   Writing The Documentation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   43
          5.1  Multiple Documentation Files  . . . . . . . . . . . .   43
          5.2  Formatting and Printing The Documentation . . . . . .   43
          5.3  Contents of the Documentation File  . . . . . . . . .   44

     6.   The Association of Shareware Professionals ("ASP") . . . .   45

     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services . . . . . . . . . . . .   47
          7.1  Telephone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   47
          7.2  Smart Answering Machines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   47
          7.3  Fax Machines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   49
               7.4  Disk Labels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   49
          7.5  Disk Sleeves  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   50
          7.7  Blank Disks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   51
          7.8  Disk Duplication  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   51
          7.9  Diskette Mailers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   52
          7.10 Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   55
          7.11 Bar Coding  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   55
          7.12 Credit Card Merchant Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . .   55
               MasterCard & Visa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   55
               American Express & Discover . . . . . . . . . . . . .   56
          7.13 A Banker's Perspective  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   56
          7.14 Printers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   64
          7.15 Printer Control Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   64
          7.16 Manual Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   65
          7.16 Manual Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   66
          7.17 Shrink-Wrap Machines  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   67

     8.   Compression Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   68

     Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   69









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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     1.   Forward

          The purpose of this guide is to provide tips on marketing and
          writing programs that look and work like top-notch
          professional software. Another purpose is to get programmers
          to share their ideas with each other.

          This guide is also going to new program authors, so some of
          the points may seem obvious or elementary to experienced
          authors.

          The information and opinions in this guide are drawn from
          several areas of the Nelson Ford's experience:  as author of a
          shareware program, Diskcat, which has been in distribution
          since September 1983 (and many other shareware programs
          since); as head of the Public (Software) Library since 1982,
          during which time he has reviewed many thousands of
          pd/shareware programs; as author of the column "The Public
          Library" for the late SOFTALK magazine; and as software
          reviewer for other publications.  Information has also been
          solicited from shareware authors and users via correspondence
          and surveys.

          Some information has also been gleaned from the Forum of the
          Association of Shareware Professionals on CompuServe (GO
          SHAREWARE) where this file resides.

          This file has been put together and freely distributed in the
          spirit of sharing. Neither Nelson or the ASP make money from
          it. All input, new information and corrections are gratefully
          accepted.


          1.1  Does Shareware Work?

               Andrew Fluegelman started the formal shareware concept
               (he trademarked the name Freeware for it).  Andy did not
               say that everyone who spent an afternoon writing a
               program, uploaded it to a couple of BBSs and sat back and
               waited would get rich.  He said that the shareware
               approach provides a way to let the users decide (rather
               than the people who control the advertising prices) which
               programs should succeed, based solely on the quality and
               usefulness of the program.  Shareware is not some magic
               way to get rich from trivial or substandard, amateurish
               products of limited appeal or usefulness.

               Some shareware programmers who have failed prefer to
               blame the shareware approach rather than themselves. 
               They think that millions of people are using their
               programs without paying and that the shareware concept
               just doesn't work.

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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     1.   Forward (Continued)

          1.1  Does Shareware Work? (Continued)

               To these people we always reply: If shareware doesn't
               work, how are Button (PC-File), Wallace (PC-Write), and
               others making over a million dollars a year at it? "These
               are exceptions!" they reply. Sure they are exceptions.
               Anyone making a million dollars a year at anything is an
               exception. Many others are making lesser, but
               respectable, incomes. Not bad for a business that anyone
               can get into at virtually no up-front cost.

               Yes, shareware definitely works.  Like anything else, how
               well it works for you depends on hard work, ability, and
               even a little bit of luck.  And even luck often boils
               down to being prepared to take advantage of opportunities
               when they coming knocking.  We hope this guide will help
               you get prepared.


     2.   Introduction

          You wrote a program to fill a particular need that you had or
          maybe just for the fun of it. Now you are thinking about
          selling it, but you are not sure of how to go about it. Well,
          what you do next depends on how seriously you want to pursue
          the marketing of your program. If you are very serious, you
          may find out that your work has just begun, and that the
          programming was the easy part.

                              A Few Definitions

          Author Bob Ostrander has the following definitions for
          Shareware, Public Domain and Bannerware software.

          There are four main types of software distribution. Each
          marketing method has strong points and weak points and may not
          be right for all software.

          The only thing that shareware, public domain software, and
          bannerware have in common is that the free distribution of all
          three is encouraged. We will concentrate on shareware in this
          document since the questions most asked deal with increasing
          the income received from an author's work.








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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     2.   Introduction (Continued)

          Retail software

          Good for most high-end software like Lotus 1-2-3, dBase IV,
          etc. The big bucks are undoubtedly in this mainline software
          if the product is a hit. The equally big drawback to this
          distribution method is the large cash outlay necessary for
          advertising. Advertising budgets of over $500,000 are common
          for major packages. $100,000 is more common for games and
          small utilities. An advertisement in PC Magazine is about
          $9,000. Your hundred grand gets you 6 months in just that one
          magazine.

          For most people, commercial marketing is feasible only with
          venture capital support or by selling your program to a major
          house such as Borland, Selective Software, Accolade, or
          Broderbund. Either way, you lose control and the majority of
          profits will go into other pockets.


          Shareware

          Equally as successful as commercial software, but requires no
          large start-up capital. The main drawback is the slow ramp-up
          of income due to the very unstructured nature of the market.

          Not all software is suitable for shareware distribution. Small
          utilities, for instance, are sometimes not particularly
          successful. Business oriented programs are rather more so
          since the corporate community is very scrupulous about paying
          for software including registration fees for software used.

          Many times, a program also must actually be better than the
          commercially marketed counterparts in order to provide a
          living for the author.  This is due to the user's fears of
          lack of support by the author. The old saying "Nobody ever got
          fired for buying IBM" is very true.  It is a risk for a
          corporate PC coordinator to recommend shareware to the company
          since the author might not be in business in a year.  The same
          is true of commercial software, but the poor systems analyst
          can always blame the magazines for misleading reviews.

          Public Domain software

          The copyright and all control over the use of the software is
          given up when software is placed in the public domain.  This
          is suitable for many products that will not provide income due
          to the nature of the software or the nature of the potential
          audience.  If you are programming for a hobby or to spread
          your code around to troll for job offers, this might well be
          suitable.

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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     2.   Introduction (Continued)

          Public Domain is also the way to go for small projects that
          you don't want to provide continuing support for.

          In order to donate your software to the public domain you must
          specifically state such in the documentation or on the screen.


          Bannerware

          This is a word that we (Public Software Library) coined to
          describe software that is used primarily to advertise another
          product.  A number of major works fall into this category like
          the Ford driving simulator, Business Week's Business
          Advantage, KnowledgePro's Hypertext, and many others.

          The author keeps the copyright to bannerware and just allows
          free distribution and use of this software without requiring a
          registration fee.

          By the way, Freeware is a trademarked term and should not be
          used interchangeably with Bannerware - but often is.


          When you should consider using shareware distribution

          - You don't have a bundle to sink into advertising.

          - You are holding down a full-time job and are looking for
          extra income.  You might be surprised and be forced to go
          full-time with your shareware as some authors already have.

          - You have already written a program for your own use and want
          to get some money for it.  This is especially attractive for
          small businesses that have written their own systems or have
          contracted systems written for their use.

          - You are writing a system for a client that might have a
          wider audience.  Be sure to retain the marketing rights in the
          contract with your client.

          - You have an excellent small utility, game, or other program
          that wouldn't be suitable for commercial distribution.









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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     2.   Introduction (Continued)

          2.1  Going All Out Via Retail-Only

               Some programmers quit their old jobs, hire people to
               write their manuals, have the manuals and disk labels
               professionally printed, send copies of their program to
               hundreds of user groups and shareware distributors, get
               an 800 number and credit card accounts, hire staff to
               take and fill orders and provide customer support, go to
               trade shows such as Comdex, go on speaking tours to user
               groups, advertise and publish product newsletters.  They
               arrange deals with distributors and dealers in the U.S.
               and overseas.

               Some programmers, not ready to go all out, keep their
               "day job", but still get manuals and labels printed, send
               out copies of their programs to lot of groups and upload
               to bbs's. If demand grows, they may hire an answering
               service to take orders.  Some just have an answering
               machine.  Others only take mail orders and don't publish
               a phone number at all.

          2.3  Taking it Easy Via Shareware

               The least successful, or at least slowest to succeed,
               method is to upload your program to a few bbs's with a
               request for payment from satisfied users.  You don't send
               out printed manuals, take phone orders, or hire any kind
               of staff. This is how Fluegelman first envisioned
               shareware working.  When it does work, it works slowly.

               Take Vernon Buerg's LIST program, for example.  Buerg
               originally released it in 1983, at first asking for
               nothing, later asking for a voluntary payment of $15.  He
               relied completely on word of mouth, not trying to push it
               at all.  As LIST slowly gained in popularity beyond the
               circle of hackers, magazines started recommending it in
               articles.  Today, Buerg gets a healthy income from LIST. 
               This is indeed a 1 in 10,000 story, however, and it paid
               off only because Buerg was willing to continuing
               supporting users and working on the program for years
               before getting substantial payback for it.










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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     2.   Introduction (Continued)

          2.4  Letting Someone Else Do It

               Some programmers have formed partnerships in which the
               partner handles all the marketing. That may be a viable
               alternative if you don't mind splitting the earnings and
               have someone whose ability, dedication and integrity you
               trust.

               You might also be able to find an established wholesale
               or retail distributor to market your program, rather than
               using the normal shareware approach.  If you do, you will
               probably find that the returns are very low.  If a
               program is good, it will sell whether you sell it or a
               distributor does, but if an established distributor sells
               it, you may end up getting 10 cents on the dollar, or
               even less, and you may lose the rights to your program.



































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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware

          3.1  Getting Publicity

               In 1982 and 1983, the relatively few shareware programs
               available were able to get exposure in the press simply
               because of their uniqueness.  In 1984, there was a column
               on public domain ("pd") and shareware software in Softalk
               magazine, but the magazine folded at the end of 1984. 
               After that, reviews of shareware in the computing press
               were scarce for a couple of years.

               Recently there has been increased coverage of shareware
               in the press, but also saw an even larger increase in the
               total number of shareware programs available. (At the
               PsL, we screen over 500 programs a month.)

               Sending your programs directly to a magazine will
               probably do no good. PC Magazine and its ilk cannot
               possibly assimilate even a small fraction of those 500
               programs a month.  Even the few who get mentioned (in
               fact, even some who have been named Editor's Choice in
               comparative reviews in PC Magazine) report a short burst
               of activity that doesn't have that much impact in the
               long run. (Look back at 1982-1985 PC Magazines and see
               how many Editor's Choices are no longer around.)

               Sending press releases to non-computer magazines might
               get you more attention because the computer angle is more
               unique to them and their readers.  For example, if you
               have a wonderful video tape cataloging program, send PR's
               about it to all the video magazines. 

               Opposing View: Some authors swear by the sending of press
               releases to magazines and the good that magazine reviews
               do. If you have the money and if you have already taken
               care of what should be your #1 priority - sending your
               program out to shareware vendors and BBS's - it certainly
               can't *hurt* to go after the magazines.

               Dan Veaner (author of SUPER-MAINT) offers his opinion and
               advice about press releases:

                    As someone who just finished stuffing, labeling, and
                    stamping 700 copies of a press release I can tell
                    you I think it's a good idea.  In my opinion press
                    releases do have impact.  Even if no one prints the
                    information there are now 700 influential people who
                    are beginning to have name recognition of my company
                    and products.  The current release is for version 2
                    of Programmer's SUPER-MAINT.


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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.1  Getting Publicity (Continued)

               Dan Veaner Advice (Continued)

                    When I sent a release of version 1.2, it was picked
                    up directly by three journals: InfoWorld,
                    Programmer's Insight, and Tech Specialist. I also
                    got calls from two smaller journals who had seen the
                    article in Infoworld, asking for a copy of the
                    release.

                    As for buying a list of press people, you can have
                    one for free as an ASP member.  Look for the great
                    list Paul Mayer put together in Lib 10 
                    (PRESS.ZIP)."  [This file is updated by the ASP's
                    Executive Director as changes are reported.]

                    Writing a good press release is the hardest part.  I
                    spent almost a month working on my current one (it's
                    not easy to make a Make program sound
                    interesting!!).  If you feel you are terrible at
                    this sort of thing you should get help.  Here's
                    basically what you should do:"

                    Format: At the top type "Press Release FOR IMMEDIATE
                    RELEASE" centered on the page. On the next few lines
                    type contact information:

                         From:  EmmaSoft
                         Contact:  Daniel Veaner (607) 533-4685
                         Date:  June 6, 1991

                    Next type your "headline," centered.

                    Now type the body of your release, double spaced.
                    Try to keep the whole thing down to two pages or
                    less.  If there are more than one page type "(more)"
                    right-justified at the bottom of each page but the
                    last page, on its own line.  At the top of each page
                    (after page one) type part of the headline with
                    "continued" in parens. Ex: "(Shareware Make Utility!
                    Continued)" At the very end of the release, also on
                    its own line, type "# # #" which means "the end of
                    the release."

                    The first paragraph is the most important.  Make it
                    the most interesting, and assume that most people
                    will read the first paragraph, then toss the whole
                    thing.  If you can get them in the first paragraph
                    you've got 'em.

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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.1  Getting Publicity (Continued)

               Dan Veaner Advice (Continued)

                    I use mailing labels because I'm a one man office,
                    but it's better to print the address right on the
                    envelope if you can.One thing I did was to look at
                    short newspaper articles and magazines with "new
                    product" blurbs.  Write your release as if it were
                    an article.  Put in interesting little facts (for
                    example, in my current release I mentioned
                    SUPER-MAINT was used in its own development).  Keep
                    it as simple for the lay reader as possible, and if
                    there is something technical explain it briefly.

                    Finally, when you mail press releases make the
                    mailing as personal as possible.  Spend the extra
                    money to put a first class stamp on the envelope. 


          3.2  Sending Out Your Program

               Rather than waste time and money sending your program to
               magazines where it will probably be ignored or at best,
               generate a short-term benefit, spend the time and money
               sending your disk to distributors and user groups and
               uploading to major BBS's, such as CompuServe.

               Make sure your program is stable for a while before doing
               all this, because you don't want to have to suffer the
               expense (and embarrassment) of having to send them all
               out again in a few weeks to fix a bug. You can often get
               a lot of good user feedback by distributing the early
               versions of your program to just a few places. After the
               feedback has resulted in an improved, bug-free, stable
               program, then start sending out to as many places as you
               can afford.

               You can get the names and addresses of user groups and
               numbers of bbs's from some magazines such as Computer
               Shopper.  You can get names of distributors from ads and
               articles in magazines, but if you see an ad that pretends
               to be actually selling the software and doesn't explain
               what shareware is, you should give consideration to
               whether you want them misrepresenting your program to the
               public in that way.

               The Association of Shareware Professionals now screens
               and licenses shareware distributors.  The ASP makes these
               lists freely available.

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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.2  Sending Out Your Program (Continued)

               ASP offers a service to ASP members that can make it
               cheaper and easier to get your program out to vendors and
               BBS's.

               Should you send to user groups?  Several years ago one
               shareware author said:

                    "For a considerable period of time I tracked
                    registrations to their source and User Groups fell
                    into the very lowest registration rate category
                    (virtually none!).  They frequently ignore
                    distribution restrictions and hardly ever indicate
                    the true nature of Shareware.  We have heard from
                    several other authors who have found the same
                    thing."

               The User Groups have changed considerably over the years
               since the above was said.  Other authors such as Jim
               Button, Marshall Magee, Bob Wallace and Bob Ostrander
               think that User Groups are very influential and very good
               places to send your shareware.  The ASP even has a User
               Group category of membership and feel that through
               education, many User Groups have become a vital part of
               the shareware distribution channel.


          3.3  Sending Out Updates

               After your first major, widespread release, you should
               probably aim for a major update about every six months to
               a year.  Any more than that and people will get fed up
               with having to update their software.  Any less than
               that, and some other program may out-feature you and
               steal your business.

               Despite the above advice, if you DO find a serious bug
               after sending out updates to everyone, do not hesitate to
               send out corrections. You are not "bothering" the
               vendors/BBS's as much as their customers will bother them
               if your software won't run.









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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.4  Check For Viruses

               For 9 years, we never saw a virus at PsL. In our tenth
               year, we were sent disks with viruses four times. Don't
               ruin your reputation; get a virus-checking program and
               check for viruses before making disk copies to send out.

               You may never find a virus.  They actually aren't as
               common as the press would have you believe.  Second to
               retail software are the computer repair shops at
               spreading virus attacks.  They rarely, if ever, check a
               disk brought in by a customer that wishes to try out a
               new computer on the floor.  They don't check computers
               that they bring in for repair.  The customer's hard disk
               could be infected and the repair person can easily infect
               the test disk used to diagnose the computer.  Every
               computer checked by that test disk thereafter will be
               infected.  Many retail computer stores re-shrinkwrap
               returned software and place it back on the shelf without
               checking it.  Scary, isn't it?

                               SCAN EVERY DISK!

               Integrity Master is an excellent easy to use, up-to-date,
               anti-virus, data integrity, change management, and
               security program.  It provides a single comprehensive
               solution to assure that all your programs and data are
               safe.  In addition to scanning for known viruses, it
               detects unknown viruses and unlike other products will
               detect files which have been damaged but not infected by
               a virus.  Integrity Master protects you against all
               threats to your data and programs not just viruses!  To
               order with Master or Visa card, call 800-788-0787 or 314-
               256-3130.  You can subscribe to several upgrade packages.

               Virx - A so called "free" demo of the of Datawatch's
               retail Virex-PC.  The latest Virx version can be obtained
               from the VIRUSFORUM on CompuServe, many BBSs and disk
               vendors as VIRX.ZIP.  It is only the scanner and will
               detect over a thousand viri.  If a virus is detected, you
               are warned so you can send back or destroy the disk being
               scanned.  However, if you want to remove the virus, you
               buy a copy of Datawatch's Virex-PC which can be purchased
               through computer software stores and mail order houses or
               by calling Datawatch at 919-490-1277.






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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.5  Advertising

               In general, advertising shareware does not pay for itself
               in direct sales.  Even the little low-cost classified ads
               in the backs of magazines generally do not pay off.  And
               yes, that even includes ads in PsL NEWS!  Such
               advertising is mainly good for increasing long-term
               public awareness of your product(s).

               Shareware programmers also report dismal results with
               those card decks which many people throw away without
               opening.  Marshall Magee (Automenu) says: "I have done
               two card decks, PC Softdeck and another one.  I don't
               think it was worth the money."

               The best form of advertising for your program should be
               the shareware version of it.  If that won't sell your
               program, an ad surely won't.  Spend your time and money
               getting your shareware disk out to users or to people who
               will distribute it to users.

               Shareware distributors can afford to advertise because it
               should generate repeat business for them that should pay
               off in the long run.  Few shareware authors expect or get
               repeat business from the average customer, with the
               exception of occasional, small update fees.  Let the
               distributors advertise your program for you by listing it
               in their ads and catalogs.  Why should YOU pay for the
               advertising?

               Update: For a while there was discussion about a vendor
               who sold spots in his advertising to shareware authors. 
               We haven't heard of this vendor for some time, so we
               assume the idea did not pay off for him or the authors.

               Again - the best use of your time and money is getting
               your program out into people's hands by sending it to
               distributors and uploading to BBS's, and ASP can make
               that a lot less painful.

          3.6  Direct Mail

               If you are interested in trying direct mail advertising,
               you may be able to buy lists from other programmers and
               vendors.  The ASP makes free lists available to it's
               members of all that stopped by the ASP's booth at the New
               York and Chicago PC-EXPO and Las Vegas Fall COMDEX shows

               Also, get a free subscription to Target Marketing
               Magazine, P.O. Box 12827, Philadelphia, PA 19108-9988.

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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.7  A "Pure" Shareware Marketing Strategy

               Some programmers get so paranoid about stopping people
               from using their software without paying for it that they
               forget that these people are their distributors too.  By
               cutting them off, you cut of your lines of distribution.

               Here is a "pure" shareware marketing strategy:  Make your
               goal the first year to get as many people using your
               program as possible without worrying about who is paying
               and who isn't.  That first year, you should either be
               working on polishing the program or on pushing the
               program all the time.  If you can hit "critical mass", in
               terms of number of people really using your program, then
               the money should take care of itself.  If your program
               becomes a clear standard then your leverage in getting
               people to pay becomes much greater.


          3.8  Shareware vs Retail-Only Software

               In general, a program that will not succeed as shareware
               will not make any money in the retail-only market either. 
               In fact, it may lose money.  Conversely, a program that
               sells well in one market would probably sell well in the
               other too.

               Games and niche products with a limited user base are
               difficult to sell in either market.  Programs that can be
               used by businesses on a daily basis are the top
               money-makers in both markets.  Site license agreements
               with the government and large corporations are the
               biggest and easiest sources of $$.

               There are some differences, though, from both the user's
               and the programmer's points of view.  As a programmer,
               you need to be aware of these difference so that you can
               plan around them.













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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.9  The User's Point of View

               * TRY-BEFORE-BUYING:  The theoretical advantage of
               shareware to users is being able to fully try a program
               before paying for it.  However, this shareware advantage
               is starting to be negated by retailers who allow users to
               return retail software within a 30-day trial period.

               * RESPONSIVENESS: Shareware authors are generally more
               responsive in terms of making changes. An author of
               retail software who wishes to change his program may have
               to get back the old version from distributors and have
               new labels, brochures and documentation printed. A
               shareware author just puts out a new disk.

               A major problem with shareware is that programmers move,
               but old versions of their programs continue to circulate
               with the old address.  If possible, get a P.O. box and
               keep it after you move.  I still get a couple of Diskcat
               registrations a week at a P.O. box that I haven't
               officially used since early 1986.  Another solution is to
               join ASP (discussed later) so that users can locate you
               through that organization.

               * COSTS: The argument used to be that shareware could be
               cheaper than retail software because you didn't have to
               pay for printed manuals that sit on the shelf and fancy
               packaging that gets thrown away. Ironically, today
               virtually all major shareware programs includes those
               trappings. It's felt that users have to feel that they
               are getting something for registering beyond fulfilling a
               theoretical legal obligation.

               Another alleged cost saving was eliminating the middle
               man - the distributor.  Now many of the top shareware
               authors are selling through distributors too.  These old,
               specious arguments ignored the fact that these "extra
               costs" also generated "extra income" that more than
               offset the costs for a successful product.

               In addition, Borland Software led the way in driving down
               retail software prices while registration fees for some
               shareware have increased dramatically.  For example
               PC-File, which cost $25 in 1983 cost about $125 when it
               reached Version 5 in 1990.  Of course, at the same time,
               the functionality of PC-File has increased
               correspondingly, but the point remains that shareware is
               no longer just "cheapware".



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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.9  The User's Point of View (Continued)

               * PROGRAM COMPLEXITY: Shareware programmers normally work
               alone while retail software companies can employ dozens
               of programs for large, complex projects.  As a result,
               some types of shareware programs cannot match all the
               features of retail programs of the same type.
               For example, a graphics related shareware program may
               only support a couple of printers while a similar retail
               program may support dozens.


               * PROGRAM QUALITY: Many times, retail products contain
               serious bugs and there is little or nothing the user can
               do about it.  The retail company may NEVER fix them. (We
               used to give an example here, but everyone probably has
               their own experiences with non-responsive retail-only
               companies that we'll save the space.)

               In contrast, if a shareware program has serious bugs,
               people just don't pay for it.  In fact, some people
               probably use the existence of any bugs, no matter how
               insignificant, as an excuse not to pay.  Therefore,
               shareware has to be in better shape than does retail
               software to succeed.


          3.10 The Author's Point of View

               * COSTS: Advertising is horribly expensive.  You can go
               broke quickly trying to break in a new program.  The
               shareware approach offers a low- or no-cost alternative. 
               Not only can you get into shareware marketing for
               virtually nothing, you can afford to take whatever time
               is required to establish your program since maintaining a
               presence in shareware can cost you nothing.

               Even so, if you want to have printed manuals and labels,
               to send out disks to user groups, to join and participate
               in the ASP, figure on spending at least a couple of
               thousand dollars, and be happy if you break even the
               first year. 

               * TIMELINESS: A single magazine ad may make more
               potential users aware of your program in one month than
               shareware distribution will reach in a year or more, if
               ever.  If you have a program that will be worthless a
               year from now and no follow-up versions are likely, you
               are almost certain to make nothing in shareware, and it
               will be difficult, at best, even in the retail market.  

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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.10 The Author's Point of View (Continued)

               The shareware authors who are now making over $1 million
               a year report that they got very few registrations for
               the first six months to a year.  In shareware, patience
               is not just a virtue, it is essential.

               By the way, while a single ad may make a lot of people
               aware of your product, that doesn't mean that you will
               sell enough to break even on the cost of the ad.  "Being
               aware" does not directly equal sales.

               * COMPETITION: In 1984, we said that the retail market is
               more crowded and the competition fiercer.  Now the
               reverse is true.  There are more and more amateur
               programmers each year with better and better programming
               tools.  Skyrocketing advertising costs force most of
               these people into the shareware market rather than the
               retail market.

               While improving on someone else's idea is a time-honored
               way to make money, people keep cranking out more and more
               of the same programs.  When there are dozens of the same
               type of program available, it becomes more difficult for
               any one programmer to make money.  Do yourself a favor
               and check on what is already available before programming
               your brains out.  The PsL's "PD & Shareware Reviews
               Disks" and the 700-page "Source Book of Free and Low-Cost
               Software" contains write-ups of thousands of programs,
               all arranged by subject matter.  Look there before you
               leap.  You can also contact the ASP and ask for the ASP's
               Catalog disk of shareware by the ASP author members.

               * IMPULSE SALES: The shareware author gets no money from
               impulse sales nor a user's mistake in buying a program
               that he doesn't need.  Everybody with more than six
               pieces of retail software probably has one that he bought
               and has never used because his needs changed or he didn't
               like the program.  The author doesn't care that much if
               you use the program or not - he has his money.











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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.11 Do Users Pay?

               Commercial software houses' wildest claims wouldn't put
               the percent of people who haven't paid for their programs
               out of total users at over 50%, yet most shareware
               authors estimate that from 80% to 99% of people using
               their program have not paid. Are these estimates valid,
               or are they just sour grapes from people with bad
               programs?  Nobody knows for sure.  Certainly there a lot
               of people using software of all kinds, shareware AND
               retail, without paying for it.  Retail software houses
               tried to get these people with copy protection, and it
               did not work.  Shareware authors have tried crippling
               (limiting) their programs, and it has not worked either. 
               In both cases, the crooked user is going to find a way to
               get his "free" software, so all the programmer has done
               is create ill will with the honest users.

               Here are traps programmers fall into which only serve to
               insure their failure: 

               1. Lack of patience.  Remember that it usually takes six
               months to a year for a program to begin to reach a broad
               enough range of people to begin bringing in significant
               returns.  During that time, if you want to succeed and
               really believe in your program, you have to keep pushing
               it and improving it just as if you were making a million
               dollars.

               2. Overestimating the program.  Some programs are just
               not that good.  It is easier for programmers to believe
               that ten thousand people are using their program and not
               paying for it than to believe that the program just isn't
               that good and to continue working to improve it.  And a
               sad fact of life is that sometimes outstanding isn't good
               enough.  Many authors have sent us press clippings saying
               how great their programs are and complaining that they
               have gotten few or no registrations.  They blame
               shareware, ignoring the fact that many outstanding retail
               programs, highly acclaimed by the press, have also gone
               under.  Homebase, now a shareware program owned by Brown
               Bag, was once a PC Magazine's "Editors Choice" as a
               retail-only program originally owned by Amber Software.

               3. Overestimating the number of users.  A commonly heard
               complaint is "200 people downloaded my program from
               CompuServe and I only got 2 registrations.  I know more
               people than that are using it."



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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.11 Do Users Pay? (Continued)

               Many people who download programs or buy disks from
               distributors do so out of curiosity or to get programs
               for their own bbs's or libraries.  It takes TIME for
               these people to get your program out to the masses, and
               more time for the masses to use the program enough to
               want to pay.

               4. Trying to sell trivial software.  People are generally
               not going to pay for a trivial program, especially since
               there usually are a lot of free versions of the same
               thing around if a program is trivial.

               5. Not working at marketing.  It takes a lot of work to
               get your program out to people, to get it reviewed by
               magazines, user groups and shareware distributors, and to
               continue to improve it in response to users.  Most people
               getting into shareware have no concept of having to
               market their programs.  Marshall Magee, author of
               Automenu, has defied the odds by making big bucks selling
               a shareware program in a very crowded field - DOS menu
               programs.  He does it by pushing his product to anyone
               who will listen.

               6. Not continuing to improve.  I have heard many
               programmers say that they were not going to invest any
               more time adding features or fixing bugs until they got
               some registrations.  This brings certain failure.  Most
               people originally write shareware for their own use or
               for the fun of programming.  For the first year, your
               best bet is to not even think about registrations:
               continue to work on the program for your own use or
               enjoyment and don't worry about who might be using it. 
               Remember, people who work at something just for the money
               seldom get pleasure out of what they are doing, and those
               work at something because they love the work usually find
               that the rewards come without worrying about them.  When
               programmers fail because of the preceding points, they
               usually start resorting to desperate measure such as the
               following:

               CRIPPLED DEMOS  Crippled demos are what retail software
               houses sometimes provide potential customers.  By
               disabling some critical function, such as the ability of
               a word processing program to save a file to disk, they
               allow the user to try out all the other functions of the
               program to see if they like it without taking the risk of
               sending out the complete program.


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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.11 Do Users Pay? (Continued)

               You may wonder why shareware authors don't just send out
               crippled demos instead of fully functioning programs for
               which some users don't bother to send payment.  The
               theory is that the more copies of your program being
               used, the more money you will get in the long run as your
               program becomes the standard.

               This is what happened with PC-Write and PC-File, both of
               which have reportedly made seven-figure earnings for
               their authors.  But PC-File's Jim Button estimated in
               1985 that fewer than one person in 20 using the program
               is paying for it.  (We question the validity of that
               figure, which is surely pulled from a hat, but that's
               beside the point.)  You would have to be an iron man to
               stoically accept the fact that, no matter how much money
               you've received which you might not have otherwise
               gotten, there are thousands of people around who are
               using your program without paying.

               So some shareware authors try the crippling technique. 
               The most common tactic is to omit parts of the
               documentation that explain more advanced program
               features.  When the user makes payment, he gets a printed
               manual with the missing sections which may not be copied
               for others.  This tactic may only work for programs with
               large amounts of documentation and with advanced
               features.  Other authors offer less powerful versions of
               a program as shareware that may be freely copied and more
               powerful versions that may not be legally copied.

               Remember that while these tactics may ensure a higher
               ratio of paid users, they also cut down on the number of
               total users.  Since you are relying on word-of-mouth
               instead of paid advertising, you may get fewer "cheaters"
               but you may also actually get fewer paid users.  Another
               reason that people don't pay may be because of shareware
               distributors who mislead the people into thinking they
               are buying the software when they pay the distributor's
               disk fees.










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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.11 Do Users Pay? (Continued)

               To sum it up, crippling just does NOT work.  It makes too
               many users angry.  It does not put your best foot forward
               and "demand" a registration with the overall quality of
               your system.  Remember that shareware has become very
               popular and that you will certainly have shareware
               competition in your niche.  Users will obtain copies of
               all of the shareware they can for the application they
               are evaluating.  Crippling OF ANY KIND (program or
               documentation) will cause a DEL *.* and they will
               evaluate your competitor's product.  You will not only
               loose the sale, but your disk will NOT be passed on to
               others.

               Several years ago, the ASP authors overwhelmingly voted
               in no-crippling rules as a membership requirement as they
               were and are convinced that crippling does not work.

          3.12 Non-Shareware Version

               Game author and owner of MVP Software, Dave Snyder, asks
               the question "Why A Non-Shareware Version (NSV)?"

               Some shareware authors have found that creating a
               non-shareware version (NSV) is an effective way to
               increase revenues generated by the product.  The ASP has
               instituted policies governing how NSVs may be implemented
               to insure that they do not become just a creative
               technique for crippling a product.  The use of NSVs has
               not been widespread until recently among shareware
               authors.  But some of us have been using them for a few
               years, and we have learned that there are right ways and
               wrong ways to structure a shareware product with an NSV.

               Below I'll list some benefits of having an NSV.  But
               first here are some examples.

               (1) Apogee games.  Most Apogee games are released as
               trilogies.  All three volumes are necessary to complete a
               game's storyline, but each volume stands on its own as a
               full-functional, playable game.  Users rarely register
               volume one; instead they buy all three.  Since the
               complete package is not available as shareware, an Apogee
               trilogy is an NSV.  Wolfenstein 3D, created by Id but
               marketed by Apogee, is an example of an NSV.  In this
               case there are six volumes total; volume 1 is shareware,
               the rest are not.



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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.12 Non-Shareware Version (Continued)

               (2) MVP Software's MVP Paint.  In a crowded field,
               releasing a crippled shareware product is probably not a
               good idea.  After all, the first thing your shareware
               version must do is attract a user base.  To do this many
               users must be convinced to switch from a current
               competitive product to yours.  If users perceive your new
               product to be under-powered or crippled, they likely
               won't switch.  The result is few registrations.

               MVP Paint tackles this problem by offering users two
               registration options.  A $35 registration fee buys a
               registered version identical to the shareware version,
               plus tech support.  For $49.95, however, users get MVP
               Paint Professional, which includes additional utilities
               that provide advanced features not found in the shareware
               version.  Not all users will need these features, and
               leaving them out of the shareware version does not
               cripple the product.  However, if MVP Paint rubbed users'
               noses in the fact that the features aren't in the
               shareware version -- by using stubbed out menu options,
               for example -- the product could appear to be crippled. 
               It's very important that your NSV is perceived as
               offering additional desirable features, but your
               shareware version cannot appear crippled.

               (3) Eric Isaacson's Zipkey.  A data-intensive
               application, Zipkey uses a variation of the "olderware"
               approach.  The shareware version cannot access the
               current dataset.  The registered version, of course, can. 
               So registration not only gets you the current dataset, it
               also gets you a version of the software that can handle
               that dataset.  No program features are left out of the
               shareware version.

               (4) Ted Gruber Software's Fastgraph.  The premiere game
               programmer's library, Fastgraph Lite (the shareware
               version) requires the use of a 54K TSR.  It is obviously
               unnacceptable for a game distributed as a retail or
               shareware product to be restricted by this TSR.  Anyone
               serious about using the product will want to buy the NSV,
               which does not require the TSR.  Again, no program
               features are left out, but the incentive to register is
               powerful.






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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.12 Non-Shareware Version (Continued)

               (5) MVP Software's Gamebuilder.  Software for creating
               graphical adventure games without programming,
               Gamebuilder Lite (the shareware version) includes almost
               everything found in Gamebuilder Pro (the NSV) except a
               run-time module. Users can play games they create from
               within Gamebuilder Lite, but the games won't run on their
               own.  The run-time modules comes with Gamebuilder Pro
               only.

               From these examples we can reach several conclusions. 
               First, the shareware version of your product cannot be
               perceived as crippled.  Second, the NSV must offer
               additional functionality.  Third, the NSV should be
               priced about 30% higher than the basic registration fee
               for the shareware version.  This creates a perception of
               value.  (This doesn't apply to all products, but it's a
               good rule of thumb.) In many cases authors receive few
               true registrations; most users purchase the NSV.  This
               tempts some authors to eliminate the registration option
               altogether.  This is a mistake, I believe.  Not only does
               it run afoul of ASP rules, but it removes the perception
               of value created by the two-tier pricing format.

               Fourth, choose an appropriate product name.  MyProg Lite
               and MyProg Professional are popular choices, but you may
               wish to be a bit more creative. The names should show a
               clear "family resemblance" between your shareware version
               and NSV.  However, the names should also clearly
               distinguish between them as well as designate a "little
               brother/big brother" relationship.  Finally, here are
               some benefits of using an NSV: (1) more sales, (2) higher
               dollar amounts per sale, and (3) retail sales.

               Retail sales are an excellent way to increase your
               revenues.  I believe most authors should go after them. 
               Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get a shareware
               product into the retail channel.  At MVP Software, I tell
               retail distributors that my product is not shareware, but
               that we do have a fully-functional demo that has been
               released into the shareware channel.  I briefly describe
               the differences between the shareware version and the
               NSV. That approach has bever failed to work.  In fact, I
               release all MVP products in three ways: (1) shareware,
               (2) low-cost retail (under $10), for which I use the
               shareware version with all references to "shareware"
               removed, and (3) moderate-cost retail ($10-40), for which
               I use the NSV.


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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.13 PD/Shareware Distributors

               In the beginning, the idea of shareware was that users
               would give copies to each other and user groups would
               give free copies to members.  Everything was done for
               free.  However, as libraries and user groups grew,
               librarians started charging fees to cover their expenses. 
               Many libraries have over 1,000 disks and many groups have
               thousands of members to make copies for.  Also, today's
               groups are filled with novices who must be assisted in
               learning to use the public domain and shareware software
               and the library must be better organized to avoid
               confusing or overwhelming these novices.  Ideally,
               programs in a library must be tested for functionality,
               bugs and viruses; they must be organized by topic; and
               they must be kept up to date.  Gathering the people with
               the expertise to do all this is costly and time consuming
               and has long since been beyond the capacity of user
               groups to keep up with.  In addition, a substantial
               number of people do not have access to user groups
               anyway, so the job of distributing shareware has passed
               more to the full-time, professional shareware
               distributors.




























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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.13 PD/Shareware Distributors (Continued)

               Unfortunately, there are distributors who are just
               looking for a quick buck and who do little or none of the
               work normally involved in testing, organizing and keeping
               things up to date.  These same quick-buckers usually
               misrepresent to the public that they are selling the
               programs without explaining what shareware is.

               For example, look at some of the shareware ads in PC or
               other magazines and see if the nature of shareware is
               being explained.  The Association of Shareware
               Professionals has passed Vendor Requirements whereby
               distributors can be approved by ASP.  Under these
               requirements, vendors would have to explain shareware in
               their ads that quote a price.  I strongly recommend that
               you state in your documentation that anyone charging any
               kind of fee for providing copies of your program must
               have your written authorization unless they are
               recognized by the ASP.  I do not require groups to whom I
               send the program to fill this out; it is intended to
               limit unsolicited requests for free disks to legitimate
               distributors.  The control number on the form (and on the
               registration form) lets you track where registrations are
               coming from.  This can be very important as you may have
               dozens or even hundreds of bbs's, disk distributors or
               user groups distributing your program and if you know who
               is generating the most registrations, you know to whom it
               is worth sending updates.

               The ASP has prepared a document similar to this one
               designed for shareware disk vendors.  It covers many of
               the same subjects, but from the vendor's viewpoint.  The
               Vendor Guide is available on request from the ASP by
               calling 616-788-5131, FAX: 616-788-2765 or writing to :

                    Association Of Shareware Professionals
                    545 Grover Road
                    Muskegon  MI  49442-9427  USA

               If you are interested in an Author, Vendor, BBS, User
               Group, Press or Friends of Shareware application kit,
               write, call or FAX and ask for the desired kit.








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     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.13 PD/Shareware Distributors (Continued)

               Following is a form that is used for Diskcat:

                   DISKCAT DISTRIBUTION LICENSING AGREEMENT

          Anyone wishing to charge people a fee for giving them a copy
          of Diskcat must have the written authorization of the author,
          without which, the distributor is guilty of copyright
          violation.    To receive such authorization, send this
          completed application, along with a copy of your software
          library's order form to:   Nelson Ford,  P.O.Box 35705, 
          Houston  TX  77235.  Include $7 to cover the cost of
          processing the application and of sending you the latest
          version of Diskcat.   For distributors already recognized by
          the Association of Shareware Professionals, this application
          is not necessary.

          Name of Organization: ____________________________________
          Your Name: _______________________________________________
          Address:   _______________________________________________
                     _______________________________________________

             TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION OF DISKCAT:

     1.   The fee charged may not exceed $10, including postage, mailer
          and any other charges.

     2.   Your library's catalog or listing must state that this program
          is not free, but is copyrighted software that is provided to
          allow the user to evaluate it before paying.

     3.   The offering and sale of Diskcat will be stopped at any time
          the author so requests.

     4.   Copies must be made from the copy of Diskcat sent to you with
          this agreement. This is required for control purposes.

     5.   Problems or complaints about the program will be reported to
          the author for investigation.  In return for a license to
          charge a fee for the distribution of the program Diskcat, I
          agree to comply with the above terms of distribution.

          Signed, ____________________________________  ______________
                         your signature                        date

               __________________________   _________   ______________
                    Nelson Ford             control #         date



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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.14 Other Protective Measures

               COPYRIGHTS:  Your copyright notice should look something
               like this:

         DISKCAT COPYR. 1983,1984,1988 NELSON FORD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

               The (C) is generally not acceptable (the C must be
               enclosed in a full circle), so spell out copyright or
               abbreviate it COPYR.  If you have revisions spanning
               multiple years, list them all.  The complete notice
               should be on one line.  FILE A FORM TX!  Speaking from
               experience garnered from someone ripping off the heart of
               this Guide as the basis for a book, I cannot advise you
               strongly enough to file a form TX. If someone rips you
               off, it makes going after them MUCH easier.  Filing the
               copyright forms is cheap and easy.  Start by calling
               202-707-9100 and tell the answering machine that you want
               5 copies of FORM TX and 1 copy each of Circular R61,
               Circular R1 and Circular 92.  Give your name and address. 
               Speak slowly and clearly.  They will send you the
               requested forms.  Additional recorded information
               available on 202-707-3000.

               You will end up filling out 1 copy of Form TX and sending
               it and $20 to the Register of Copyrights, Library Of
               Congress, Washington DC 20559.  You will need to include
               1 copy of your source code and 1 copy of your
               documentation.  Then, wait about 3 months to get it back. 
               The effective date is the day they receive it.  You might
               also want to get SE and GR/CP.

               PATENTING SOFTWARE:  Attorney Jon Wallace tells us:  Re
               patenting a program - it is possible, but extremely time
               consuming and costly.  The program must be novel and
               non-obvious (terms of art) and cannot merely solve an
               algorithm or incorporate a law of nature.  The process
               can take two years and cost thousands of dollars.  Is it
               worth it?  Well, if Software Arts had patented VisiCalc,
               Lotus 1-2-3  would never have made it to market.











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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.14 Other Protective Measures (Continued)

               TRADEMARKS:  Generally, if you start distributing your
               program without a (TM) notice by the name, you lose the
               trademark protection. So spend the extra four keystrokes
               and put it on.  Marshall Magee advises:  The trademark
               office requires that you send them copies of artwork
               currently being used to market your product with the TM
               indicated next to your word or phrase.  The patent &
               trademark office will then issue you a paper telling you
               that your word or phrase is now a Registered Trademark
               and then you have the right to use the circled R in place
               of TM.

               CompuServe has a service called IQuest (GO IQUEST) that
               will allow you to scan the Trademark Data Base for about
               $35 to $150 depending on how many ways you search.  The
               search cost depends entirely on the exact mark and goods
               involved, how many "hits" come up in the search, etc. 
               This may a quick way to check on whether or not someone
               else has already registered your words.  If you send in a
               name that is already registered, you will lose the $200
               fee, but that may cheaper than paying a lawyer to do a
               search.  However, the experienced lawyer may well find
               more information than the novice searcher and save you a
               lot of problems later.

               The Association of Shareware Professionals uses two
               lawyers.  William Baron was recommended by Jim Button and
               Bill handled setting up the ASP as a non-profit
               corporation and handled the trademark for the ASP's logo. 
               Lance Rose has handled the ASP's lobbying efforts in
               Washington D.C. and was instrumental in having a bill
               modified that otherwise would have virtually eliminated
               any copyright protection for shareware.

                    Lance Rose
                    87 Midland Avenue
                    Montclair  NJ  07042
                    201-509-1700

                    William Baron
                    Baron, Lieberworth & Warner
                    1500 Pacific Building
                    720 Third Avenue
                    Seattle  WA  98104
                    206-623-6212




                                      29


         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.14 Other Protective Measures (Continued)

               TRADEMARKS (Continued)

               Lance Rose told us that "properly speaking it's not the
               words themselves that are registered, but the mark at
               issue for specific goods or services.  The whole question
               of registration, of course, does not exhaust the issues
               raised by the question of can I use the mark?  An
               unregistered trademark won't come up on an IQuest-style
               search, but the owner of the mark can sue someone who
               starts using it later.  In this case, neither the
               registration search, nor registration itself, will keep
               the second user from getting beaten by the first user."

               They will want a copy of your package and need to know
               the first sale of the product with the "trademark" used.

               It can pay to shop around for a lawyer. ASP members have
               reported paying $200, $700, and over $1000.  However, the
               $200 is impossible these days as the filing fee is now
               $200.

               For information about Trademarks call the Department of
               Commerce at 703-557-3158 and request a copy of Basic
               Facts About Trademarks.

























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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.14 Other Protective Measures (Continued)

               WARRANTIES:  You should also put a disclaimer of warranty
               in your documentation. Place it at the front of the
               documentation where the reader cannot miss it. The
               following is a sample disclaimer that you can use:

                            DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

               THIS SOFTWARE AND MANUAL ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT
               WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY
               OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.  BECAUSE
               OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO
               WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR
               A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED.  GOOD DATA PROCESSING
               PROCEDURE DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY TESTED
               WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT.  THE USER
               MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAM.  ANY
               LIABILITY OF THE SELLER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO
               PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF PURCHASE PRICE.

               Do use all CAPS.  Before relying on the above
               information, be sure to ask around to make sure the
               information is still up-to-date.


          3.15 Selling Registered Versions Through Shareware
               Distributors

               Several shareware distributors have begun selling
               "registered versions" of shareware programs.  Practices
               for doing so vary widely.  Some may have you send them
               packages to sell on consignment, some may buy packages
               from you just like a regular dealer, others may sell the
               program but have you ship it.  The percentage that the
               distributor gets also varies widely, from less than 10%
               to as high as 60%.

               Before signing with a distributor who will keep 60%, keep
               in mind that if you allow such a distributor to sell your
               program, for you just to break even, he must generate
               more than two-and-a-half times more registrations from
               people who would not have registered otherwise.  If out
               of 25 registrations, 10 of those people would have
               registered with you directly anyway, you barely break
               even.  If half of the 25 would have registered with you
               anyway, you have lost money to the distributor.  From
               what we have seen, such distributors do little or nothing
               to promote the programs, so they are just skimming the
               cream of registrations you would have received anyway.

                                      31


         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.15 Selling Registered Versions Through Shareware
               Distributors (Continued)

               We think more and more distributors will take to selling
               registered versions and in general, this will be
               beneficial to shareware.  The main drawback is that you
               must be careful in selecting those you let sell your
               program.  If they rip someone off, you may have to pay. 
               And you may also have to cope with rip-off artists who
               claim to be selling your program, but who give you none
               of the money.

               At PsL, we offer a non-profit registration taking service
               for authors. We charge a flat fee of $5 per transaction
               (no matter how many copies/programs are ordered) to cover
               the cost of taking the order and notifying the author to
               ship and the cost of doing the paperwork, etc., plus 4%
               of the total to cover the costs of the credit card. For
               more information, contact PsL.


          3.16 Selling Registered Versions Through "Retail"
               Distributors/Dealers

               Some of the top shareware authors also sell their
               programs through normal retail channels.  While there is
               nothing wrong with this from the shareware viewpoint,
               dealers and distributors often complain when they see
               "the same program" being listed in a shareware
               distributor's ad for a few bucks.

               Hopefully, in the long run, increased public awareness
               about the true nature of shareware and more truth in
               advertising by shareware distributors (both of which are
               major goals of ASP) will stop this from being such a
               problem. In fact, as more shareware distributors begin to
               sell both retail and registered shareware products, the
               distinction between the two may disappear, other than the
               advantage to users of being able to try shareware before
               buying.

          3.17 Setting Prices

               Now let's look at the problem of setting a price for your
               program.

               Underpricing:  If someone doesn't need a program, the
               fact that you may have grossly underpriced it is not
               going to induce them to register.


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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.17 Setting Prices (Continued)

               Overpricing:  Users don't care if you "really need the
               money" or if you spent 10,000 hours on the program. They
               care about THEIR needs and the costs and alternatives for
               filling those needs.  The two keys to pricing a program
               are the cost of alternatives and the value to the user.

               The Cost of Alternatives:  To do a sensible job of
               setting a price for your product, you need to know the
               shareware and retail markets for your product.  Find out
               what other programs are selling for and compare your
               program to them in terms of quality and features.  For
               retail products, don't look at list prices, look at
               mail-order discount ads. That is your main competition.

               For shareware products, the easiest way to compare is to
               look in the PsL's PD/Shareware Reviews. The license (or
               "registration") fees shown there include shipping and
               handling, in order to make comparisons valid.  If you
               have written a simple program and you see other programs
               like it that are free or $10 or less, that does not bode
               well for the odds of your getting rich from your version. 
               Even if you don't find any competition, if your program
               was easy to write and you overprice it, you can bet that
               others will write "improved" versions of your program and
               ask little or nothing for it.

               On the other hand, programs like TapCIS have made it big
               despite the availability of AutoSIG, an excellent (and
               FREE) alternative program (both are CompuServe
               communications programs).  "Alternatives" are not always
               other programs.

               If you had the world's only program for keeping track of,
               say, telephone messages, you still could not charge
               hundreds of dollars for it because people still have
               non-computing alternatives -- writing the messages down
               on paper.












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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.17 Setting Prices (Continued)

               Value To The User:  For a program to be a huge success,
               it must have a large target audience, it must have a
               value far in excess of its cost, and it must be appear to
               be better and/or cheaper than alternatives.  If the use
               of alternatives is already deeply ingrained in people's
               habits, then the program must be greatly superior to
               alternatives (not just cheaper) to get people to switch
               and to learn a new system.

               In effect, your target audience is made smaller when your
               program's niche is already dominated by a highly
               successful program.  Sometimes a programmer will price a
               program very low because he thinks that will get more
               people to pay for it.  This strategy is fine if it is
               based on a comparison of the program to alternatives, but
               it usually is based solely upon desperation and/or lack
               of confidence.  This strategy of trying to low-price a
               program is most often employed with low-value programs or
               programs with small target audiences.  It does NOT work.
               Large numbers of people are simply not going to pay for
               low value programs, no matter what the price.

               Likewise, pricing has virtually no effect on the size of
               your target audience. If you have a high value program,
               but a small target audience, you should keep your price
               up (still giving consideration to the cost of
               alternatives) and use the extra revenues to try to
               increase the size of your target audience (ie: get out
               and PUSH your program) or to develop other programs.

               Charge for Value to the User, Not for Your Time:  If you
               are fairly new to programming and it took you weeks or
               months to perfect your program, keep in mind that an
               experienced programmer with a collection of sophisticated
               programming tools might duplicate your effort in a day.
               Don't price your product based on the number of hours you
               spent (which we have seen some authors prattle on about
               in their documentation), but on the value of the program
               to the user.










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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.17 Setting Prices (Continued)

               Case Studies:  BASIC compilers used to sell for hundreds
               of dollars.  When Microsoft introduced QuickBASIC ("QB"),
               it had a street price of under $60, although its value to
               the customer was clearly very high and it had a large
               target audience.  The reason why was competition from
               Borland Software who was releasing Turbo BASIC about the
               same time and at about the same price.

               A company named MicroHelp sells add-on's for QB, usually
               at prices much higher than QB itself.  Even though the
               total time and money invested in these add-on's is
               undoubtedly many times less than in QB, and though the
               relative value of the add-on's is probably far less than
               QB itself, MicroHelp still enjoys very good success.  The
               reason why is because of two key elements: (1) the
               relative value of the add-on's compared to QB
               notwithstanding, the value of the add-on's to the user is
               still many times the price of the programs and (2) for
               most of these add-on's, there are no alternatives that
               are significantly cheaper.

               Rabinowitz's SWAP Programs:  In the shareware arena, Chip
               Rabinowitz has cleaned up with some add-on's for many
               popular pop-up programs (such as Sidekick) that reduce
               the DOS RAM used by these programs to about 9k.  Again,
               the price of these add-on's is much higher than the value
               of and time/money invested in the original programs, but
               that fact notwithstanding, the value of the SWAP programs
               is many times their price and the alternative (of not
               using the SWAP programs and continuing to waste precious
               DOS RAM) is not an attractive one.


















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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     3.   Marketing Shareware (Continued)

          3.18 Changing Prices

               Eventually you may need to raise your registration price.
               After doing so, you will continue to receive
               registrations at the old price.  Most ASP authors agree
               that you should explain to the customer that the price
               has gone up; they disagree on whether or not the original
               payment should be accepted or returned.

               The following is a sample letter that favors acceptance
               of the partial payment:

               Thank you for your registration of _______________.  The
               version of the program that you registered is outdated
               and the price has since gone up due to the additional
               time invested in improving the program. Nevertheless, I
               have recorded you as a registered user and am sending you
               the latest version and manual.

               If you feel that the latest version is worth the
               increased registration fee, please return the enclosed
               invoice with the additional payment; otherwise, please
               just keep the new version with my appreciation for your
               support.

          3.19 Technical Support

               The best asset you may have is your ability to provide
               better technical support than any "commercial/retail"
               competition could ever do.  Even the business community
               is finding that they have more success in getting the
               features they need when they work with a shareware
               author.  The excellent communications between you and
               your customers will make your product grow and improve at
               a rate much faster than the traditional "retail"
               software.  Seriously consider providing pre as well as
               post-registration technical support.  It often will
               result in an order and will at least give you additional
               feature ideas or result in your writing clearer
               documentation.

               If you have a "day time" job, DO have an answering
               machine.  Have your message clearly identify your company
               name and offer to call back.  If necessary, ask for an
               evening or weekend number to return the call.  Don't even
               consider fooling with collect calls.  This will be viewed
               as VERY un-professional by many potential registrants. 
               Large companies won't even consider accepting collect
               calls and you may miss a big site license.


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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     4.   Making Your Program User-Friendly

          4.1  Installation

               Many authors assume that their users know as much about
               computers as the author.  This is just not the case. 
               Many shareware users can be novice computer users.  If
               they download your software from a BBS, you can assume
               that they will at least know recognize README text files
               and EXEcutable files.

               However, if they have purchased the shareware disk from a
               disk vendor or have been given the disk by a friend, you
               should have a README.DOC, READ.ME or README.1ST file. 
               Many disk vendors instruct their customers how to copy
               these type of files to their printers or how to TYPE them
               to the screen.

               The README file should be short and sweet.  If possible,
               limit it to one 24 line screen so that the TYPE command
               will not scroll the top of the file off the top of the
               screen.  It should tell them how to install your system
               on floppy or hard disks.  It will likely tell the user
               how to run your INSTALL.BAT or INSTALL.EXE file.

               MAKE IT EASY for the user to install, evaluate and make
               that all important "buy" decision before the span of
               attention lapses.

               One way to create an install program is to write and test
               an install BATch file.  Create the necessary sub-
               directory and copy and/or uncompress all of the necessary
               files.  If you have an install program, you can have a
               menu option that will print the on-disk documentation.

               The Wenham Software Company at 508-774-7036 makes a BATch
               file compiler named BATCOM to convert your BATch files
               into an EXE program file.  It does require that you
               already have Microsoft's LINKer.

          4.2  On-Screen Help

               The first thing most people will do when they get your
               program disk will not be to print out and study the
               documentation; it will be to try to run the program. So
               your program should have enough on-screen help to allow
               the user to run the program at least well enough to get
               interested in it.  One popular data base program has one
               place where instead of a self-explanatory menu, it shows
               a series of cryptic symbols and letters from which the
               user is supposed to select.


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     4.   Making Your Program User-Friendly (Continued)

          4.2  On-Screen Help (Continued)

               Chances are, the occasional user will have to refer to
               the manual every time this part of the program is
               reached. (Since 1984 when the above was written, the data
               base program has been improved, to say the least.)

               The most desirable alternative is to have the program
               work in a natural enough manner and have enough
               information on the screen to allow the user to operate
               the program with no further help.

               The second best alternative is to have help screens that
               can be called up with a keystroke.

               The third best alternative is to have a well-written
               manual.

               The worst alternative is to have users calling you all
               hours of the day and night or even have them give up on
               your program.


          4.3  Supply defaults

               If the user has supplied the name of a file to load, make
               that name the default when you ask him for a name to save
               with.  While on the subject of files, if you ask for a
               filename, be prepared to let the user see the disk
               directory.  Some programs make the user exit the program
               and look at the directory in DOS if he cannot remember
               the filename.  A nice checkbook program in PsL lets you
               put a vendor's name and address on a check by entering
               the vendor's ID#, but it doesn't let you view a list of
               vendor ID numbers!


          4.4  Trap errors

               Nobody wants to have ten minutes of keyboard input dumped
               into the bit bucket because the program kicked out to DOS
               when it found a disk drive door open, or some other minor
               infraction.  One very fine shareware program has scared
               off potential users because it gives nothing more than
               error code numbers for simple things like having a
               write-protect tab on a disk.  In this case, the author
               would have been better off not trapping errors.  The
               program would have aborted, but at least DOS would have
               spelled out the error messages.


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     4.   Making Your Program User-Friendly (Continued)

          4.5  Rules For Basic Programmers

               Here are two cardinal rules for BASIC programmers:

               1. Compile your program.  There are many, many users who
               have never run anything but 1-2-3 or Wordstar.  They do
               not understand the intricacies of getting in and out of
               the BASIC interpreter.  They expect to be able to run the
               program by typing in its name from DOS. Furthermore, your
               program will run faster.  Also, some PC-compatibles do
               not come with a BASIC interpreter.  MS-DOS 5 does NOT
               include the GWBASIC interpreter any more.  On these, the
               user cannot run your program at all!

               2. Avoid using the INPUT command.  It allows the user to
               wipe out the screen and provides very little control to
               the programmer. Instead, use an INKEY$ routine.  Almost
               all BASIC programmers are now following these rules, but
               they still bear repeating.  Not a cardinal rule but still
               a very good idea for BASIC programmers is to use
               assembler subroutines for doing screen writes.  Users are
               accustomed to instantaneous screen writes in professional
               programs.  An alternative is to use the paging
               capabilities of the graphics card but then users with
               monochrome monitors must still wait.

          4.6  Make The Program And Keys Work Naturally

               All programmers should allow full-screen editing.  This
               simply means that the user can move back to a prior
               prompt with the cursor keys to correct an error.
               Thoughtless (or lazy) programmers make the user go all
               the way through a series of prompts and then asks if
               there are any corrections.  The best time to correct an
               error is as soon as you notice it.  That way, you can get
               your mind off the error and back on your work.

               Similarly, the Esc key should always allow the user to
               get out of whatever he has gotten into.  Nobody likes to
               re-boot his computer just because he accidentally
               selected a wrong option and can't get out of it.  I have
               seen retail programs that use the Esc key to execute a
               command.  Make the program as flexible as possible.  What
               may seem to you like a natural, logical key to strike for
               a particular function may not seem so to the user. 
               That's why keyboard modification utilities are so
               popular.  For example, to page up, you could let the user
               press either Ctrl-P or PgUp or, better yet, select his
               own favorite key to use.


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     4.   Making Your Program User-Friendly (Continued)

          4.7  Let The User Customize

               Send your program out with black and white screens but
               allow the user to change colors.  Some programmers use
               colors that are only visible on color monitors.  Remember
               that some people use amber or green monitors on color
               graphics cards.  Early versions of Diskcat tested for the
               presence of the color graphics card and, upon finding it,
               started using yellow (brown) for text.  Of course, it did
               not show up on amber monitors.

               Allow the user to customize the program for his printer. 
               Ideally, you should have the control codes for most
               printers in files on disk so that the user just selects
               his printer from a menu.  An easier (for the programmer)
               alternative is to allow the user to enter the control
               codes for his printer, although figuring these out from
               the printer manual often seems to be beyond the
               capabilities of novices.

               When your program does printing, allow pauses for each
               new page for people not using fanfold paper.  (This is
               not quite as critical anymore.  Most people now use
               fanfold paper on dot matrix printers or use lasers with
               paper trays.)  End each printout with a formfeed so that
               those who do use fanfold paper can chain printouts into a
               print buffer.

               Make sound effects optional.  Some heavily modified
               versions of PC-TALK sound like a calliope, there are so
               many warning beeps and tones built in.  These are not
               appreciated by others when you are working in an open
               office or late into the night at home.  Again, some
               PC-compatibles do not support sound (eg: Sanyo).

               PUT THINGS BACK WHERE YOU FOUND THEM:  One very useful
               utility in our library uses colors that do not show up on
               some monitors.  Worse yet, it does not put back your
               colors when it exits to DOS, so you have to reboot the
               system to be able to see the screen again.  Some other
               programs put you back in DOS with a 40-character display
               or in the graphics mode or with your printer set to print
               Sanskrit.








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     4.   Making Your Program User-Friendly (Continued)

          4.8  Keeping Your Files Together

               If your files will not fill up a disk by themselves, they
               will probably be put on disks with other files.  Even if
               you don't expect this to happen, it is still a good idea
               to give your files names that will cause them to be
               grouped together when a sorted directory is done and that
               make it clear which files are in a set.  If you have
               files named READ.ME or AUTOEXEC.BAT, they probably will
               not survive being put on a disk with another program.

               Give them unique names.  For example, the PC-DIAL files
               are named PC-DIAL.COM, PC-DIAL.DOC, and PC-DIAL.PRO.
               Since the files total only 90k and are likely to be
               combined on a disk with other files, these names will
               keep the files together.  In contrast, see the names of a
               set of programs below:

                    Original Names      Alternatives
                    --------------      ------------                   
                    MDSECRET.COM        HIDE_MD.COM
                    CDSECRET.COM        HIDE_CD.COM
                    RDSECRET.COM        HIDE_RD.COM

               You should also put a lot of thought into the filename of
               your program if it is a short utility that will be mixed
               in with others.  For instance, the average user is never
               going to make the connection that GREP is a text-search
               utility.  A name such as FINDTEXT.EXE would have been
               better.  One nice utility came out with three files:
               DOWNLOAD.DOC, DL.COM and RESET.COM.  What typically
               happens is that these are put on a disk with 60 other
               files.  Someone looks at RESET.COM, can't find any
               documentation for it, so they delete it.  Same thing
               happens with DL.COM.

               The other problem is that someone skims through a listing
               of the disk, sees the name DOWNLOAD, and assumes that it
               has something to do with communications and ignores it. 
               Doesn't matter, since the COM files have been deleted
               anyway.  How much easier things would have been if the
               files had been named BKUP.DOC, BKUP.COM (this is a
               routine to backup a hard disk) and BKUP-SET.COM (sets the
               archive bit on a file so that it will be copied.)  
               Number Each Release:  Believe it or not, some people send
               out frequent updates to their programs and never put a
               date or release number on them. That makes it nearly
               impossible for you to control what versions of your
               program are in distribution and for users to know if you
               have released a new version.

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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     4.   Making Your Program User-Friendly (Continued)

          4.9  Do NOT Use 1.2m Drives To Make 360k Disks

               If you own a computer with only a 1.2m 5 1/4" floppy
               drive and you use it for making 360k copies,  replace
               that 1.2m drive with a TRUE 360k drive!   Why?

               ALL disk vendors distribute either 360k 5 1/4" or 720k 3
               1/2" disks.  A few distribute collections on 1.44m 3.5"
               disks.  NO, not ONE, nada vendors sell 1.2m 5 1/2" disks. 
               Period!

               Don't let a computer store or mail order outfit tell you
               that you can make 360k copies on 1.2m high density
               drives.  Sure, sometimes you can.  Often a disk vendor or
               customer will NOT be able to read the disk.  The vendor
               will drop you from their catalog because you sent them an
               unreadable disk and you will get a LOT of calls from
               those to whom you have sent registered disks.  It will
               cause you loss of big bucks, lost sales and frustrated
               customers.  Sort of akin to the end of the world for a
               shareware author.

               Why?  The answer is fairly simple.  To get 1.2m on a
               5.25" disk, the disk drive "paints" a track that is 1/2
               as wide as the 360k drives so it can place 80 tracks on a
               disk rather than 40.  Sure, you can ask the DOS FORMAT
               program to tell your disk drive to lay down only 40
               tracks for a 360k format, but they are still THIN tracks. 
               If the disk was previously formatted, and often suppliers
               sell pre-formatted disks at no additional price, the
               vestiges of the 80 tracks are STILL there, even though
               your disk drive just wrote a 40 track 360k format onto
               the disk.  A true 360k drive has a WIDER head and will
               easily pick up portions of bits from the adjacent
               unerased thin track that was laid down previously.  The
               360k drive reads garbled data and DOS gives up.

               Even if you make 360k disks with disks that have NEVER
               been formatted before, the tracks are too thin to be read
               by many 360k drives.  A slightly out of adjustment 360k
               drive can read true 360k disks just fine, but will choke
               on one of those darned disks made on a high density
               drive.

               This problem does NOT exist with 1.44m 3 1/2" drives. 
               The track width on both the 720k and 1.44m formats is the
               SAME.  Eighty tracks are used for both 720k and 1.44m. 
               The 1.44m format just has twice as many sectors to the
               track.


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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     5.   Writing The Documentation

          The following book has been recommended by ASP member Morrie
          Wilson, author of Command Post:  How to Write a Computer
          Manual; By Jonathan Price; The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing
          Company; (800) 227-1936 (USA); (800) 982-6140 (CA). Price:
          $35. ISBN 0-8053-6870-1.


          5.1  Multiple Documentation Files

               As mentioned earlier, if you have a large documentation
               file, don't expect the user to print and read it right
               away. If there are some key points that the user will
               need to know to get through a first trial run, condense
               them into a shorter file and have a batch file print it
               out for novices.  Your terms of distribution and payment
               should also be in a separate, short file (named
               REGISTER.DOC, ORDER.TXT, etc.) where software librarians
               and users can find them.  Authors who bury their terms of
               distribution and invoice at the back of a 100k
               documentation file are just asking to have them ignored. 
               ASP recommends putting vendor info in VENDOR.DOC.


          5.2  Formatting and Printing The Documentation

               It is amazing how many authors put the documentation file
               on the disk with all of their word processor's formatting
               commands embedded in it.  If the user can't read the
               documentation, you've already got one strike against you. 
               Some people use file compression on the documentation
               file and the user must run a program to translate the
               file.  Putting the documentation in a format that cannot
               easily be read from DOS is not a good idea because it
               reduces the odds that the user will thoroughly read the
               documentation.  But if you must compress it, it is even
               more important to condense the key facts into a shorter
               file.  Even if the documentation is in straight ASCII, it
               is helpful if you add a program to print it out to the
               screen or printer.  This makes it easier for novices to
               get a printout while the file being in ASCII still allows
               experienced users to access the documentation in other
               ways.  The program should allow for pausing after every
               page to change paper, if the user needs to do so.

               Use a spelling checker.  We have talked about how a
               professional looking program will generate more revenues,
               and nothing looks more unprofessional than blatant
               misspellings.



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     5.   Writing The Documentation (Continued)

          5.2  Formatting and Printing The Documentation (Continued)

               If your documentation is more than 5 or 10 pages, include
               a Table Of Contents.  You should also have an Index. 
               Modern word processors will create these for you.  Notice
               how this document is improved by both.

               Be sure that you "print" the finished document to a
               straight ASCII file that contains no control characters
               except a Form Feed (ASCII 12) after line 59 on each page. 
               Do not pad blank lines to make a full 66 lines per page. 
               The HP laser printers (and compatibles) can handle only
               59 or 60 lines before they eject the page.  If you have
               more than 59 lines between Form Feeds, the HP laser will
               perform premature ejection and the remainging lines will
               be printed at the top of the next page.  Dot matrix
               printers will also handle the Form Feed every 59 lines
               just fine.


          5.3  Contents of the Documentation File

               Right after your title page, disclaimer of warranty, and
               table of contents, there should be a listing of all files
               that are supposed to be on the disk, along with a short
               description of each.  If a file has dropped out in the
               distribution process, this will alert the user and save
               him some frustration.  This information should also be
               included in your condensed documentation file.

               Next, give a quick over-view of just what your software
               does.  This will help people reviewing your system and
               may cause a quicker positive "buy" decision.

               After you've recited all the dry facts in your
               documentation, try giving the user some illustrative
               examples.  This can make things a lot clearer to the user
               and save you the headache of having to clarify things
               over the phone.

               List all the changes made with each version that's
               released.  This lets potential users see that you are
               supporting the program by making enhancements and fixing
               bugs and allows users to know if you have fixed problems
               that they had with an earlier version.  Make sure that
               when you refer to a file, the file name on the disk has
               not changed.




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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     6.   The Association of Shareware Professionals ("ASP")

          The file you are reading actually led to the formation of ASP. 
          This file originated in late 1984 and was distributed to
          shareware authors in early 1985 along with a survey asking
          about an interest in a programmers group.  After finally
          getting a good number of responses and compiling the
          information, I started work in early 1986 for a get-together
          of shareware authors for the primary purpose of forming a
          trade association.  The plans culminated with a Shareware
          Convention on February 27 1987 in Houston Texas, from which
          the ASP was born due to the enthusiastic participation of top
          shareware programmers such as Jim Button (PC-File), Bob
          Wallace (PC-Write) and Marshall Magee (Automenu).

          These people could have adopted the attitude that they were
          already successful enough without such an organization, but
          they did not.  They paid their own way to the Convention even
          though they were the featured speakers!  Button was elected
          the ASP's first (and second) Chairman of the Board of
          Directors.  Magee became the first President.  Tom Smith
          served as a director.  And none of these are "honorary"
          positions; they involve a great deal of time and effort.  Many
          others, such as Barry Simon, Bob Tolz, Joan Friedman, and
          others too numerous to mention have also done a tremendous
          amount of work for ASP as directors, officers, and committee
          members, but I suspect that had the top shareware programmers
          not taken such an active role, ASP would not have had much
          credibility and possibly would not still be around.

          The ASP also owes thanks to the sysops of IBMNET on
          CompuServe.  Sysops Conrad Kageyama and Don Watkins were at
          the Convention and arranged, on the spot, a place on IBMNET
          for the shareware authors to meet electronically and continue
          our plans.  We have been meeting there daily ever since in
          what must be a record for longest continuous business meeting.

          ASP also has an annual physical meeting at the Fall Comdex
          each year.  For more information about ASP, log onto
          CompuServe and type GO SHAREWARE.  You do not have to be a
          member of CompuServe to join ASP, but since much of the
          benefit of membership is related to the exchanges between
          members (and between members and users) on the Shareware
          Forum, anyone serious about shareware should make an effort to
          take part on the Forum.  To get a CompuServe account, call
          800-848-8199 (614-457-0802).

          To contact the ASP, write to Association of Shareware
          Professionals, 545 Grover Road, Muskegon MI 49442-9427,
          telephone 616-788-5131 or you can FAX to 616-788-2765.



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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     6.   The Association of Shareware Professionals ("ASP")

          Many ASP members as well as non-ASP shareware authors,
          vendors, BBSs, User Group representatives and others also
          attend the annual 2 1/2 day Summer Shareware Seminar hosted by
          Public Brand Software in Indianapolis, Indiana each June,
          usually the weekend (starting on Friday) just before the NY-PC
          Expo.  Contact Bob Ostrander at 317-856-6052 for more
          information.  This annual event is an excellent opportunity to
          "rub elbows" with lots of other shareware folks.

          Here is a testimonial from ASP member Lou Miranda:

          "I am a starving graduate student making $12,000 a year with
          enormous time demands.  My girlfriend lives 30 miles away
          (checked the price of gas lately?); my apartment looks like a
          tornado swept through it.  I used to log on to this forum only
          once a week when I first joined ASP."

          "Then twice a week.  Now I'm up to four times a week (I simply
          *can't* afford the money or time to do more than  that...yet). 
          Why? Because the *volume* and *quality* of information on this
          forum is *phenomenal*!  You simply can't create that in a
          newsletter, no matter how often it is released."

          "[The above] was in a message posted on the ASP forum over a
          year ago (in 1991).  Since then, some things have changed: 
          I'm still a starving student, but now I'm working on finishing
          up my Ph.D.; and my girlfriend is now my fiancee.  And some
          things have stayed the same: I'm still very busy, my apartment
          still looks like a tornado swept through it, and I still log
          onto the ASP forum!  The forum has gone through some
          reorganization in the past year, to better meet the needs of
          the members.  You can get information from fellow members on
          such topics as: How to handle a purchase order; how to get a
          credit card account; what the best database managers are; how
          to handle a customer with an unreasonable gripe; how to handle
          a customer with a legitimate gripe; how to deal with price
          increases in your product; where to get your documentation
          printed; how to promote your newest release; and how much time
          to spend on programming vs. how much time to spend on
          promotion."

          "Remember--these are the best minds in the business, and
          they're all at your disposal at no charge!  That's an offer
          *I* can't refuse.  Can you?"

          Editor's Note - Lou is referring to the ASPFORUM (GO SHARE) on
          CompuServe.  Even if you are not an ASP member, stop by the
          forum with any questions you may have.  If you wish to join
          CompuServe call 800-848-8990, 614-457-8650, United Kingdom at
          0800 289 458, Germany at 0130-4643.

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         Programmer's Guide - Copyright 1992 by Nelson Ford & the ASP


     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services

          NOTE: The information in this section is subject to change at
          any time.  Check the date on this file.  If it is old, this
          info may no longer be valid; get a new copy of this disk from
          PsL (713-524-6394) or from Lib 4 of the ASPFORUM on
          CompuServe.

          7.1  Telephone

          AT&T has a low cost 800-line service called the Ready Line
          which is relatively inexpensive.  For about 23 cents a minute
          out of state, about 35 cents a minute in state (for Texas),
          you can have a fancy 800 number just like the big boys.  Most
          of the good acronyms are already gone, but you should still be
          able to come up with something.  At the PsL, our number is
          1-800-2424-PsL, which we think is easy to remember.  However,
          we were not able to get anything like 800-PsL-DISK or
          800-SHRWARE, which would have been better.  Another shareware
          distributor has the number 800-IBM-DISK, but IBM clamped down
          on them for trademark infringement and they no longer
          advertize the number that way, so we suggest that you not
          waste time trying to work "IBM" into your acronym.  The Ready
          Line 800 number is assigned to your regular telephone number,
          so you do not even have to get a second line, unless you just
          want to be able to know for sure if someone has dialed the 800
          number.

          An AT&T competitor, Sprint, has cheaper rates, although only
          time will tell if their service will match AT&T's.  Sprint's
          rates are as follows: $10/month Rates vary with distance and
          total number of hours: 0-5 hours: $.2125-$.23 5-25 hours:
          $.195-$.205 25-75 hours: $.1775-$.19 75-150 hours:
          $.1775-$.1875 Call 800-347-3300 to order service. (Rates above
          are as of 1990 and are subject to change.)

          7.2  Smart Answering Machines

               Programmer John Newlin reports:  I purchased a product
               called the Complete Answering Machine ("CAM") after
               reading about it in the July issue of Home Office
               Computing. It's an outstanding system that includes a
               plug-in card and all the necessary software.  It runs in
               the background so the machine it's running on is not
               completely dedicated.  The system allows you to do    
               all kinds of nifty telephone things like transferring
               calls, having the caller touch different numbers to get
               different messages, message forwarding, remote message
               retrieval, etc.  All messages, greetings, etc, are stored
               on disk in compressed digitized form.  For that reason, a
               hard disk is almost a necessity.


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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.2  Smart Answering Machines (Continued)

               The quality of the recording is phenomenal.  CAM retails
               for $349 (several years ago), but I got it from 47th
               Street (800-221-7774) in New York for $214 plus shipping. 
               The name of the manufacturer is The Complete PC; 521
               Milpitas Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035. 408-434-0145, 800-
               229-1753.

               Here is another view by author Paul Mayer - I remembered
               seeing a review in PC Magazine on computerized answering
               machines and voice mail systems and it had one that stood
               out above the others and was the Editor's Choice.  I did
               a search on CompuServe in the ZIFNET files and found the
               information.  It was BigmOuth from Talking Technology,
               Inc., 1125 Atlantic Ave., Alameda, CA 94501,
               510-522-3800.

               The system does not run as a TSR as CAM did so I've
               dedicated an old computer to the task.  You can use
               multitasking software to run it in the background but
               having an unused machine laying around made this
               unnecessary.

               The system gives the appearance of the caller connecting
               to a big corporation with multiple departments.  Before
               going full time shareware, I'd have my computer call a
               pager number and beep me whenever anyone called and I
               wasn't in the office.  This is great as I could then call
               in and retrieve the messages it would take and get back
               to the customer right away.  This gives them the feeling
               that the customer lines were busy and you've returned
               their call immediately.  If you'd like a demo of
               BigmOuth, you can call the 510-522-3800 number and they
               will transfer you to a demo system using BigmOuth.  The
               price was around $300 at the time I bought my system and
               I've seen it advertised for less in mail order catalogs. 
               All in all, it's quite a value for what it can do.

               Answering Services can be expensive.  If you cannot be
               available during the day, your best bet is probably to
               get a computer voice synthesizing answering device such
               as Newlin described.  Many large companies are now using
               these to route calls, so there should be less of a
               small-timer stigma attached to them as there is to a
               simple answering machine.





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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.3  Fax Machines

               All the experts are predicting that everyone will have a
               fax in a few years, but it seems a little premature for
               someone just starting off in shareware to get one right
               now. On the other hand, if you have to deal with
               magazines and other large companies, they are going to
               *assume* that you have a FAX and it could reflect on your
               professionalism if you do not.  At PsL, we have been
               using the Intel Connection Coprocessor.  A FAX card with
               its own CPU will let you receive and send messages in the
               background while you continue to use the computer for
               other things.  However, for about the same price, you can
               get a stand-alone FAX machine these days.  Good FAX
               machines can be purchased for less than $500.

               Richard Harper reports success in using a device called
               Fax/Phone Switch II by Electronic Speech Systems.  The
               cost is about $50.  It answers all calls with a pleasant
               voice that explains that if you stay on the line the FAX
               will answer.  If you say the word "telephone" at the
               tone, the call will be switched to the phone.  It is
               simple, elegant, low cost and it works.  You can have
               your regular telephone and answering machine on the voice
               port.  a dealer is TKP&F Computer Science, 5415 Endicott
               Street, Roanoke VA 24019, 703-362-7114.

               7.4  Disk Labels

               With font programs, you can make small quantities of
               laser labels at a low cost that look like they were
               custom printed.  Avery Label Pro is the best laser label
               program, in my opinion.  Paul Mayer recommends CompUSA
               for laser labels.  If there is not one near you, you can
               call them at 817-261-7702 or 800-342-7638.  They accept
               mail orders through this number by credit card.  Prices
               on 6/1/90 were:

                    8-1/2 x 11 sheets (100)     $17.99   Stock #853262
                    5-1/4" disk labels  (840)   $26.49   Stock #853901
                    3-1/2" disk labels  (630)   $26.49   Stock #853892










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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.4  Disk Labels (Continued)

               Avery will send you a sample pack of laser labels for the
               purpose of getting your software to work with them. 
               Write to them at 777 East Foothill Blvd., Azusa, CA
               91702-1358 or call 800-541-5507.

               The Computer Label Company, 800-332-4223 (619-322-3030)
               and MEI, 800-634-3478 (614-481-4417) have the best prices
               we can find on standard 3.5" by 1" labels.  You can also
               call United Ad Label at 800-423-4643 (714-990-2700) and
               ask for a free catalog and sample label kit.  They
               specialize in audio/video labels but they do have both
               pin-feed and laser sheet labels for 3.5" and 5.25" floppy
               disks.

               Another good source for labels is Lyben Computer Supplies
               313-268-8100.  They have the Avery labels.  They are also
               one of the few suppliers that carry the continuous
               fanfold label stock that can be used for 3.5" disks.  The
               labels are 2 3/4 by 1 15/16 inch and is Stock # 0300.


          7.5  Disk Sleeves

               PsL's sleeves are printed by Data Envelope (408-374-9720)
               at an average cost of about 5 cents each for two-color
               printing on both sides of tyvek sleeves, including a
               one-time charge for plates.  This was based on a volume
               of 50k, but even in volumes of 1000, you can get
               two-color sleeves for as little as 10 cents each.  The
               same company printed our labels, which you can get for as
               little as one cent each.


















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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.6  Art Work

               If you can get someone to design a logo you like for as
               little as $500, you have gotten a bargain.  Don't be
               surprised to pay $1000 or more.  Your best bet is to find
               someone who works for a design agency and moonlights. 
               Also check the person listed on page 66.

          7.7  Blank Disks

               Flip through the pages of Computer Shopper and take your
               pick.  It makes sense to us that if you are sending a
               copy to someone who should make a working copy from your
               disk and not use your disk much, the cheapest disk you
               can find should suffice, particularly if you are sending
               out a couple of hundred disks to distributors.  Be aware
               that some colored disks (red or orange, in particular)
               may not be readable on some disk drives.  We find that
               about half or more of our customers, when given a choice
               of disk sizes at the same price, choose 3.5". Some MUST
               have 3.5", so be prepared.  Also realize that the
               cheapest disk will not always hold the image for long.


               7.8  Disk Duplication

               In our opinion, disk duplication services are grossly
               over-priced.  However, others use these services and are
               happy with them.  If you are pushing out 1,000 or more
               disks a month, you might want to get a duplicator.  You
               can get a stand-alone, four-disk copier for around $1100
               these days, which is a real bargain; we have paid $2000
               for copiers that require a PC. (Call Micro-Technology
               Concepts, Inc., 718-456-9100.)

               A stand-alone hopper-fed copier will cost a minimum of
               about $3500, but it will be a LOT nicer to use for large
               copy jobs than feeding disks in one at a time.  You may
               be able to get a better price from Tony at Formats
               Unlimited, 121 Toledo St., East Farmingdale, NY, 11735
               (800) 645-8461 or (516) 249-9200.

               There are many public domain and shareware programs
               designed to make disk copying and formatting faster. 
               Before spending even $1100 on a duplicator, try some of
               these programs.  In the PsL, we have many of them on
               disks U1-1553 and 2673 Disk Copying Utilities.




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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

               7.8  Disk Duplication (Continued)

               ASP author, Randy MacLean has the shareware DUP program
               that stores an image of your shareware floppy disk master
               on your hard drive.  Through the program's menu, you
               select the particular image to create floppy disk copies. 
               Formatting is optional in case you have reliable pre-
               formatted disks.  PsL U1-2673 contains this program or
               you can contact Randy at 416-857-4141.  If you need a
               fancier version to drive the hopper type duplicator,
               Randy has the non-shareware ProCopy program.


          7.9  Diskette Mailers

               A good source of plain, inexpensive, flat diskette
               mailers for one or two disks is MailSafe 800-527-0754
               (798-872-6677). Mailers are less than $.14 in quantities
               of 1000.  If you opt for a return address printed on it,
               it doubles the price, but looks pretty cheap.  Instead,
               either print your return address labels or try the next
               company.

               If you want fancy mailers, try the Ames Safety Envelope
               Company, 312-279-9474, 188 Industrial Drive, Suite 431.
               Ask for Gary Traynor.  You do have to order quite a few,
               however. For 5,000, the price should be about $.65 each.
               For 10,000, about $.45 each.

               PsL used to use the fancy mailers, but we think that a
               better alternative is to have 6"x9" (or whatever size you
               need) envelopes printed with your logo.

               Calumet Carton Company 708-333-6521 has 6" x 6" mailers
               for $0.16 each, 6" x 8" for $0.18 and 7" x 9" for about
               $0.21 each.  These are Peal-Seal Stay-Flats with an easy-
               open tear strip.

               If you put a manual in with your disks, you probably
               don't need any more protection for the disk(s) than that. 
               At PsL, we put the disks inside a MailSafe mailer and put
               that inside the envelope.  This is still cheaper than the
               Ames mailers, and the customer gets a fresh mailer for
               his own use.  You should be able to get paper envelopes
               printed with your logo for about a dime or so. Tyvek
               envelopes will cost about 20 cents or more, but they are
               worth it. They are rip-proof and water-proof. Check with
               your local printer.



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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.9  Diskette Mailers (Continued)

               Quill sells 5 1/4" foam-lined cardboard mailers for
               $5.66/10 or $16.47/30 (They also have 8" foam-lined
               cardboard mailers.) Bubble-lined 00 mailing envelopes,
               $29.88/250, $129.40/1250 Self-sealing bubble-lined 00
               mailing envelopes, $31.97/250, $139.80/1250 Recycled
               padding 00 mailing envelopes, $33.49/250, $144.80/12.50
               Cro-nel self-adhesive foam packaging, $53.97/250 feet
               (This stuff has foam on one side, paper on the other, and
               the foam is treated to stick to itself. You just tear off
               a hunk, fold it over your diskette, and address the
               outside -- instant mailer, sized to what you want to send
               in it).  Quill is at 714-988-3200 (Western states),
               708-634-4800 (Midwest, Midsouth, Northeast) or
               404-479-6100 (Southeastern states).  No shipping charge
               on orders over $45.

               Some authors purchase 6" x 9" envelopes from their
               printers that include their address and logo.  The words
               "FIRST CLASS" should be printed below the postage stamp
               area.  The Postal Service employees that do the initial
               sorting are usually new hires that think anything larger
               than a business size envelope is Third Class.  Unless you
               want a LOT of delays, have FIRST CLASS in large letters
               or purchase a stamp from your office supply store.  Also
               have "DO NOT BEND - MAGNETIC MEDIA" below your return
               address.

               You can also purchase cardboard cut to 8 1/2" x 5 1/2 "
               from your local printer.  Use this to sandwich your 5.25"
               disks.  Use 4 sheets of cardboard for overseas mailings
               to insure they get there undamaged.  You can also tape
               3.5" disks to the cardboard to prevent sliding in the
               envelope.  You can ship 3.5" disks in a regular business
               sized envelope.  You can either wrap it in several sheets
               of install or upgrade instructions or cut narrow
               cardboard stock to sandwich the disk(s).













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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.9  Diskette Mailers (Continued)

               Here is a summary of places that sell disk mailers:

               Calumet Carton            Sterling Disk Duplication
                  Company                11495 N. Pennsylvania Ave,
               P.O. Box 405                       Ste 204
               16920 State Street        Carmel  IN  46032
               S. Holland IL 60473       317-575-3390
               708-333-6521              FAX: 317-575-3389
               FAX: 708-333-8540

               Pack & Wrap               Mailers
               466 Derby Avenue          40650 Forest View Road
               W. Haven  CT  06516       Mt. Zion  IL  60099
               800-541-9782              800-872-6670
               203-389-1983              708-872-4842
               FAX: 203-389-9416         FAX: 708-872-6677

               The Sirgo Company         Mail Safe
               P.O. Box 58               4340 W. 47th Street
               Schereville IN 46375      Chicago  IL  60632
               219-865-6092              708-872-6677
               FAX: 219-322-5194         800-527-0754
                                         FAX: 708-872-4842

               Quill Office              International Media & Supplies
                 Products                3501 Coffee Road, Suite 9
               P.O. Box 94080            Modesto  CA 95355
               Palatine  IL              800-835-5515
                    60094-4080           FAX: 209-571-5757
               708-634-4800
               FAX: 708-634-5708


















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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.10 Boxes

               If you are mailing manuals, you may need boxes. PsL gets
               boxes from Fidelity 800-328-3034 (612-536-6500) and
               Iroquois 800-453-3355 (312-436-4900).  Call and ask for a
               catalog.  We also get some boxes from local box stores,
               although they cost a bit more per box.  The companies
               mentioned also sell general office supplies, but if you
               have a office supply super-store in your area, you can
               probably do better there.


          7.11 Bar Coding

               If you hope to get into retail stores, you should be sure
               to put bar codes on your packaging. Start by calling the
               Uniform Code Council at 513-435-3870. At present, it
               costs $300 to get a number.  Rumor has it that the rate
               may go up later.  If you need an ISBN number, call 908-
               665-2849.

          7.12 Credit Card Merchant Accounts

               MasterCard & Visa - MC/Visa Merchant accounts can be very
               difficult for mail-order merchants to get, more so in
               some parts of the country than in others.  If you have
               had a business checking account for your business for
               several years, get to know your branch manager well.  Try
               them first.

               If that fails, your next step should be to check ALL your
               local banks.  It's possible that many of the local banks
               are processed by the same clearinghouse who sets the
               rules for member banks about acceptance of mail-order
               merchants.  I checked almost every bank in Houston before
               finding First Interstate, who is cleared by its parent
               bank in California and who gave us an account.

               I used to include in here the names and phone numbers of
               companies that might fix you up with a credit card
               account, but this information changes and it's important
               to get the very latest info.  You can do so by asking on
               the SHAREWARE forum on CompuServe.  If you cannot get an
               account, PsL offers a not-for-profit credit card ordering
               service. For a small fee, your customers can call PsL's
               800# (or FAX or CIS numbers) and place an order with any
               major credit card.  You can ship or have PsL ship.  If
               you have PsL ship, you may want to have PsL ship ALL your
               orders for you for an even smaller fee.  Contact PsL for
               more info.

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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.12 Credit Card Merchant Accounts (Continued)

               If you become an ASP Author member, contact the ASP
               office for the name of a bank that has been very willing
               to work with shareware authors.


               American Express & Discover

               While MC/Visa are the big guns, American Express was
               willing to give us an account when we were still
               operating out of our home.  At the time, Discover was not
               willing to do the same.  However, we have recently
               (5/9/90) been told that Discover has set up a branch for
               mail-order businesses.  We do not know at this time if
               this includes in-the-home businesses.  We had no trouble
               getting a Discover account after we moved into regular
               offices.

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective

               Following is a document prepared by Eric Isaacson that
               may help you convince your bank that someone in the
               shareware business is worthy of consideration for a
               Merchant Account:

               -------------------------------------------------------
               Shareware Marketing of Software: A Banker's Perspective
                               by Eric Isaacson
                        Copyright 1991 Eric Isaacson.
               All rights reserved.  Permission is hereby granted to
               shareware businesses and members of the banking industry
               to freely copy and distribute this unmodified work
               between and among themselves. 

               Your comments are welcome!  Send them to:

                    Eric Isaacson Software
                    416 E. University Ave.
                    Bloomington  IN  47401-4739
                    (812)339-1811










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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective (Continued)

               The Purpose of This Booklet

               In the past ten years a new approach to marketing
               computer software has emerged: shareware.  Shareware is
               relatively small compared to the overall software market,
               and it is very different.  It has been poorly understood
               by bankers wishing to evaluate shareware businesses. 
               This booklet explains the shareware business from the
               banker's point of view.

               Why Software Is Different

               A computer has two components: the hardware and the
               software.  The physical machinery comprises the hardware:
               the main box, various disk drives and circuit boards
               mounted inside, and the keyboard and monitor connected
               via cables.  Computer programs comprise the software: the
               operating system, the word processor, the spreadsheet,
               the accounting package, the database manager, etc.

               The marketing of computer software poses unique problems. 
               The value of software is intellectual: it comes from the
               hundreds-to-thousands of hours spent preparing the
               program and making sure it works perfectly for all users. 
               The price of the floppy disks that carry the software is
               tiny compared to the intellectual value.  This makes the
               computer software industry similar to the video-movie
               industry: both have problems with unauthorized copying. 
               But the problems of computer software are worse: first,
               most computers have the built-in ability to duplicate
               software using just one machine. Duplication of movies
               requires two tape decks placed next to each other.
               Second, copies of software are perfect duplicates of the
               original.  With videotape, there is significant and
               annoying degradation when copying is attempted.

               To combat unauthorized copying, some software publishers
               attempted to make their software difficult to copy.  This
               "copy protection" was common in the early days of
               personal computing.  But publishers have never succeeded
               in devising a protection scheme that doesn't annoy the
               legitimate purchaser of the program.  







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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective (Continued)

               Today almost all computers have high-capacity ("hard")
               disk drives onto which all software is copied.  If a user
               can't copy the software to the hard drive, that user
               isn't likely to buy the software.  Copy-protected
               software has almost disappeared from the marketplace.

               Other software publishers have taken the completely
               opposite approach to the problem: they market their
               software as shareware. 

               What Is Shareware?

               Shareware is the opposite of copy-protection.  Rather
               than trying to prevent copying, the software publisher
               actually encourages the user to make copies and "share"
               the program with anyone interested.  Complete
               documentation is placed onto the floppy disk along with
               the program.  In the documentation there is an
               explanation of shareware.  Anyone who receives a copy of
               the program is encouraged to try out the program.  If
               they like it, they should send payment (usually called a
               "registration") for the program directly to the
               publisher. Thus the ability to make perfect copies of the
               program becomes a tool for marketing the program.

               Note that shareware authors retain a valid copyright to
               the program.  The author establishes the conditions under
               which the program may be copied.  The author may also
               establish a specific amount of time for evaluation of the
               program, beyond which the user is legally required to
               either pay the registration fee or stop using the
               program.  The validity of a shareware program's copyright
               has been tested and approved by the courts: a Missouri
               shareware author successfully sued a Texas distributor
               for violating his conditions for copying.  Also, a
               shareware author was invited to testify before a U.S.
               Congressional committee evaluating software copyright
               law, and the law was reworded to recognize explicitly the
               existence and validity of shareware.

               Shareware is still a small segment of the whole software
               industry, but it is growing rapidly.  Annual revenues
               connected with shareware are estimated to exceed $100
               million in 1991.





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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective (Continued)

               The Shareware Author's Business

               Most businesses publishing shareware consist of a single
               person: the author of the program.  Many authors develop
               programs on evenings and weekends, while retaining a full
               time job weekdays.  The author invests mostly time and
               not money: a good program takes many hours to prepare,
               but it takes at most only a few hundred dollars to
               market.

               Marketing a shareware product consists simply of placing
               it into the shareware distribution stream -- transmitting
               the program to free or low-cost dial-up computers called
               "bulletin-board systems", transmitting or sending it to
               nationwide services like Compuserve and Prodigy, and
               sending copies to companies that catalog and distribute
               shareware.  If the product is good, enthusiastic users
               will spread it themselves, so that an initial
               distribution of a few dozen copies will proliferate into
               many thousands of copies.  A significant number of those
               thousands result in registrations (money) sent to the
               author.

               What are the advantages and disadvantages of shareware
               marketing?  The disadvantages are that a program takes
               time to build up sales volume, and the volume will
               usually be much smaller.  Also, a program must be very
               good to succeed as shareware.  It might be possible, via
               skillful marketing and advertising, to fool the public
               into buying a mediocre program when it's shrink-wrapped
               on a store shelf.  But the user can try out a shareware
               program before buying it -- if it's mediocre, the user
               won't use it and hence won't register it.

               The advantages of shareware are low risk and low
               overhead.  Through traditional (non-shareware)
               distribution channels, it takes from $200,000 to $500,000
               to properly launch a software product.  Markups must be
               granted to both retail outlets and their supplying
               distributors, so that the publisher might get only 15% of
               the retail price, and the author even less.








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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective (Continued)

               Some shareware programs fail: they aren't good enough to
               generate registrations.  But the author doesn't thereby
               go bankrupt.  He or she simply loses the modest,
               out-of-pocket initial disk-and-postage investment.

               There are hundreds of shareware authors who make enough
               money from shareware to substantially supplement their
               regular job income.  About 50 authors are making a living
               from shareware receipts, and have gone full-time with
               their shareware business.  Many of them can make a
               handsome profit without even needing to hire anyone else
               to help out.

               Some shareware businesses grow into full-fledged
               companies, with dozens of employees and multi-million
               dollar annual sales.  To reach that level, the author
               typically supplements the shareware marketing with
               traditional advertising and dealer distribution.  But
               even for those companies, the risks are low because the
               author moves into traditional distribution only after the
               product is generating significant revenue through
               shareware marketing.  The expansion is financed via
               existing profits, rather than venture capital.

               Shareware Businesses and Banking

               Shareware marketing is completely unique -- the only
               other business with its try-before-you-buy philosophy is
               Public Television; but Public Broadcasting stations do
               not enjoy the low overhead that shareware authors do.

               The uniqueness of shareware makes it poorly understood in
               the banking industry, especially those handling
               credit-card merchant accounts.  Shareware has some of the
               characteristics bankers normally associate with poor
               risk: payments are made almost entirely by mail or
               telephone, and all but the largest shareware businesses
               are operated out of the author's home.











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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective (Continued)

               In reality, however, shareware authors are ideal
               credit-card merchants from the banker's point of view. 
               Unlike other mail-order businesses in which the customer
               doesn't see the product until it arrives, with shareware
               the customer already has the product.  If the customer
               isn't happy, he or she simply stops using the program,
               and never pays the author in the first place.  If the
               customer wishes to defraud the author, he or she simply
               uses the program and never contacts the author.  Thus,
               all of a shareware author's paying customers are both
               happy with the product and honest enough to pay for it. 
               The level of customer complaints and chargebacks is close
               to zero.  Credit-card fraud for shareware is
               non-existent.

               If a banker knows about shareware, he or she should
               welcome a shareware author's business.  How can a banker
               identify a bona fide shareware business?  To start, the
               banker can ask the author for a copy of the program.  If
               the banker doesn't feel "computer-literate" enough to
               verify that it's a genuine, non-trivial program, he or
               she can ask for references.  Many shareware authors are
               members of the Association of Shareware Professionals
               (ASP).  The ASP screens applications for membership, to
               ensure that only legitimate authors of non-trivial
               shareware are admitted as author-members.  The ASP would
               be happy to verify any claims of membership -- they can
               be reached at (616)788-5131, weekdays 8--5 eastern time. 
               Other prominent authors have chosen not to join the ASP,
               but their programs are listed in the catalogs of
               shareware distribution companies such as Public Brand
               Software, P. O. Box 51315, Indianapolis, IN 46251; or the
               Public (software) Library, P. O. Box 35705, Houston, TX
               77235.

               Shareware Distribution Companies

               Bankers should be aware of another major component of the
               shareware industry, distinct from the authors: the
               shareware distribution companies.  These companies take
               advantage of the fact that copying of shareware is
               allowed, by providing a cataloguing and distribution
               service of shareware disks.  Customers of distribution
               houses are sent lists of available programs, for which
               they can pay a copying fee of between $1 and $5 per disk.




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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective (Continued)

               There is no business arrangement between authors and
               distribution houses: authors neither receive any
               royalties for disks sold, nor do they pay anything for
               the publicity given them.  Customers understand that they
               are not paying for the software, but merely for the
               distribution service.  Most shareware authors allow
               distributors to handle their programs, because it spreads
               their programs even further.

               From a banker's point of view, the shareware distribution
               houses are closer to traditional mail-order businesses. 
               Their profit margins are much lower than authors',
               because their overhead relative to revenues is higher. 
               They must advertise in order to build business.  Some
               distribution companies haven't charged enough for disks
               to cover their overhead costs, and have thus gone
               bankrupt.  But others, such as Public Brand Software and
               the Public (software) Library, have built solid,
               profitable, multi-million-dollar companies from shareware
               distribution.

               A banker wishing to evaluate a shareware distribution
               company can use many of the usual criteria: length of
               time in business, size of business, profit sheets, etc. 
               There are a couple of pointers specific to shareware
               distribution that can enhance the evaluation: first,
               companies should be charging at least $3 per disk in
               order to be profitable.  There can exist "Mom and Pop"
               outfits, run out of homes, that make some money charging
               less; but if they try to expand into real businesses,
               their overhead almost always overwhelms them.  Second, a
               banker can check the distributor's integrity by asking
               for a catalog and for advertising copy, to make sure that
               they are adequately explaining to the customer that they
               are a shareware distribution service and are not selling
               the software itself.  If the customers understand what
               they are getting, the level of complaints and chargebacks
               will be much less than that of the average mail-order
               business; if they don't, it will be as much or greater.










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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.13 A Banker's Perspective (Continued)

               For More Information

               The booklet "Shareware `Try Before You Buy' Software" by
               Rob Rosenberger describes shareware from the consumer's
               point of view.  You may purchase it by sending $4.95 plus
               $1.75 S+H to Paradise Publishing, 3111 S. Valley View
               Blvd. Suite B-105, Las Vegas, NV 89102; or calling
               (702)253-1940.  For free catalogs listing the best
               available shareware programs, you can write to Public
               Brand Software or the Public (software) Library at the
               addresses already given, or call them at their respective
               numbers: (800)426-3475 and (800)242-4775.
               -------------------------------------------------------

               End of Eric's article.


































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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.14 Printers

               Most shareware authors "typeset" their own manuals on a
               laser printer.  We have seen some "manuals" done with
               9-pin printers.  Don't bother; you will make a better
               impression by just having the manual on disk.  You can
               start with an HP IIP for about $800.  Add about $100 to
               brink memory up to 1.5m.  It is slow, but with a good
               word processor that handles various fonts, you can print
               a very credible camera ready master.

               Or you can go with the HP LJ IIIP for around $1600, and
               upgrade it with a PostScript cartridge and a 4meg Pacific
               Page add-on should you feel the need.  You can get
               off-brand and/or discontinued lasers for around
               $600-$700, but they may not be upgradeable, may not have
               100% HP LJ emulation, and may not even have a continuing
               source for toner and drums.

               For doing mailing labels, you can get laser labels for an
               HP LJ, but it is usually a lot easier to have a dot
               matrix printer if you are going to be doing a significant
               number.  We used Epson printers, but the labels got stuck
               in them all the time, so we switched to the Okidata 390,
               which has a bottom feed so that the labels go straight
               through the printer and the problems disappeared.  The
               Panasonic KPX-1124i is also an excellent 24 pin printer
               that allows feeding stock from the back, bottom or front.


          7.15 Printer Control Codes

               The following company sells reference books with list
               control codes for most brands of printers:

                    Cardinal Point Inc.  4999 West Woodland Drive   
                    Bloomington, IN  47404    812-876-7811














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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.16 Manual Publishing

               Probably the best incentive to register is to be able to
               receive a printed manual.  This is particularly true if
               you have a large system with a large manual.  Registrants
               view the printed manual right up there with the excellent
               technical support given by most shareware authors as a
               good reason to send you money.

               If you are just starting, consider just having a
               professional looking manual on disk until the number of
               registrations is enough to convince you that you could
               use a thousand manuals in a year or so.  A cheap looking,
               poorly done manual is worse than no manual at all.  If
               you have a small manual (less than 100 pages), you should
               be able to get 1000 copies for about $1000.

               Check your local printers, but also check with Whitehall
               Press, who did PsL's Source Book. The number for their
               new plant and headquarters in Florida is 813-643-6464. 
               Since they opened the new plant, they have gotten back to
               a 4 to 5 week delivery schedule.  On July 1, 1993 I was
               quoted $1.22 each copy for 1000 copies of a 112 page 6"
               by 9" manual with 2 color laminated covers.

               Author Gary Elfring recommended Patterson Printing in
               Michigan 616-925-2177).  They may be slightly faster and
               can handle larger books.

               Many authors have used Camelot Book Factory, P.O. Box
               1357, Ormond Beach FL 32175-1357, phone 904-672-5672. 
               They will produce up to roughly 300 copies for those who
               want to start out printing less than 1000 copies.  They
               do black only on any color cover paper, non-laminated. 
               On July 12, 1993 I was quoted $2.35 each copy for 200
               copies of a 112 page manual and $2.85 each copy for 100
               copies of a 128 page manual.  Both quotes for 5-1/2" by
               8-1/2" manuals.

               For my Diskcat-5 manual several years ago, I just used a
               local printer to print a first run of 500 copies with a
               glossy, two-color cover. I also paid an artist about
               $1200 to do the art and color separations for the cover,
               the labels and ads.  Don't worry too much about your
               manual being rendered obsolete by program updates (short
               of major rewrites). Even big publishing houses have
               adopted the technique of putting the latest info in a
               READ-ME file on the disk.



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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.16 Manual Publishing (Continued)

               Paul Mayer tells us "If you're going to 4 color process,
               don't degrade it by using printed screen shots.  Do like
               the magazines do, send your graphic captured image to a
               company that converts them into color slides.  The
               company that I use is:"

                    Galaxy Graphics, Inc.
                    P.O. Box 220538
                    Chantilly, VA 22022
                    Office: 703-802-1111
                    Fax: 703-263-111
                    Modem: 703-643-0329

               Some authors who really want to go first-class use a
               binding procedure that looks like perfect bound, but when
               you open the book, it lays flat and stays open. It's
               called Otabind. For more information, call Hart Graphics
               8000 Shoal Creek Blvd, PO Box 968, Austin TX 78767,
               telephone 512-454-4761.

               You should seriously consider getting professional help
               in laying out the cover of your printed manual,
               particularity if you plan to try the retail market. 

               Call the printer to see how wide the spine will be for
               the number of pages.  For example: a 96 page Perfect
               Bound manual will have a 3/16" spine.  Some retailers
               will place your package edge on so that the printing on
               the spine is the only thing the customer will see.  That
               is why many software packages are boxed for greater
               visibility.

               If you can't find professional help locally,  the
               following person has designed several catalog covers for
               the ASP and has done logo and cover work for many ASP
               authors.

                    Suzanne Bilodeau
                    5709 Pebble Beach
                    El Paso  TX  79912
                    915-581-9608








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     7.   Where To Get Supplies And Services (Continued)

          7.17 Shrink-Wrap Machines

               Almost everyone in the ASP who has a shrink-wrap machine
               has the AJM machine and is happy with it, including me.
               The system consists of a 15" sealer unit, an industrial
               14-amp heat gun, and a 10" by 2000' by 75-G roll of film
               all for about $430.  800-858-4131 "National" 800-722-2246
               "Inside California".











































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     8.   Compression Software

          If you have a large program and/or large documentation files,
          you may wish to use compression software to fit everything on
          1 (or maybe 2) 360k floppy disks.  You can often squeeze twice
          as much information on a disk.  The drawback is that you may
          cause confusion for the end user.

          There are two compression systems in wide use by shareware
          programmers today; PKZIP and LHARC.  PKZIP is produced by Phil
          Katz of PKWare and is widely used by Bulletin Board Systems to
          reduce download times by compressing the files.  LHARC is not
          as widespread on BBSs, but is used by many shareware authors
          due to no royalty requirement.

          The end user confusion is caused when it is necessary to run
          either PKUNZIP.EXE or LHA.EXE to uncompress the files.  It is
          necessary to insure that the user have these programs,
          preferably on your distribution disk.  Instructing the user
          how to extract your files can be difficult and can cause the
          user to give up or call you at midnight because they can't get
          your shareware installed.

          The solution is to use either PKZIP or LHARC to create self-
          extracting program files.  This method tacks a small
          extraction program onto the front of the compressed data. 
          When the user runs the program, it uses the portion of the EXE
          program after the front-end self-extract code as the data to
          uncompress.  This is a good arrangement as the extraction
          program can not be separated from the compressed file.  Both
          PKZIP and LHARC allow you to include multiple program and data
          files within the compressed EXE file.

          You will need to contact PKWare to obtain a royalty type
          license to use PKWare's self-extraction code on your
          distribution disks.  LHARC is free as long as the Copyright
          notice is displayed by the self-extract module and this is
          done automatically when an LHARC self-extracting program is
          run.  You should also mention the LHARC copyright in your
          documentation.

          Both the PKZIP and LHARC software can be obtained from most
          disk vendors and BBSs.  You can obtain both systems from the
          Public (software) Library at 713-524-6394.  LHARC is on disk
          U1 1862 and PKZIP is on disk U1-1705.  Both can be purchased
          on one 3.5" 1.44meg disk number U1-7059 which includes several
          other compression utilities.






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                                    Index

          1.2m Disk Problems  . . . . .  42  High Density Disk
          800 Numbers . . . . . . . . .  47            Problems  . . . . 42
          Address Considerations  . . .  16  Installation Procedures . . 37
          Advertizing . . . . . . . . .  14  Instruction Manuals . . . . 43
          American Express  . . . . . .  56  Integrity Master
          Answering Machines  . . . . .  47            Anti-Virus  . . . 13
          Archive Software  . . . . . .  68  ISBN Code Numbers . . . . . 55
          Art Work  . . . . . . . . . .  51  Label Stock . . . . . . . . 49
          ASCII Documentation . . . . .  44  Laser Printer Problems  . . 44
          ASP . . . . . . . . . . . . .  45  LHARC Compression . . . . . 68
          ASP Disk Vendors  . . . . . .  11  License Agreement . . . . . 27
          ASP Group Mailing . . . . . .  12  LIST.COM  . . . . . . . . .  7
          ASPFORUM - CompuServe . . . .   3  Logos . . . . . . . . . . . 51
          Bar Coding  . . . . . . . . .  55  Mailers - Disk  . . . . . . 52
          BASIC Program Rules . . . . .  39  Mailing Service - ASP . . . 12
          Batch File Compiler . . . . .  37  Manual Printing . . . . . . 65
          Blank Disks . . . . . . . . .  51  Manuals . . . . . . . . . . 43
          Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . .  54  Master Card . . . . . . . . 55
          Buerg, Vern - LIST.COM  . . .   7  Merchant Accounts . . . . . 55
          Changing Prices . . . . . . .  36  Non-Shareware Version . . . 22
          Color Seperations . . . . . .  66  Organization Of Files . . . 41
          Compiler For Batch Files  . .  37  Patenting Software  . . . . 28
          Compression Software  . . . .  68  PKWare Compression  . . . . 68
          CompuServe ASPFORUM . . . . .   3  PO Box  . . . . . . . . . . 16
          Control Codes-Printer . .  65, 67  Press Releases  . . . . . .  9
          Copying Disks . . . . . . . .  51  Price Changes . . . . . . . 36
          Copyrights  . . . . . . . . .  28  Pricing Shareware . . . . . 32
          Cover Artwork . . . . . . . .  66  Printer Control Codes . 65, 67
          Credit Cards  . . . . . .  32, 55  Printers  . . . . . . . . . 63
          Crippling . . . . . . . . . .  21  Printers-Manuals  . . . . . 65
          Customization By User . . . .  40  Printing Documentation  . . 43
          Defaults  . . . . . . . . . .  38  Printing Manuals  . . . . . 65
          Direct Mail . . . . . . . . .  14  Program Defaults  . . . . . 38
          Discover Card . . . . . . . .  56  Program Distribution  . . . 11
          Disk Duplication  . . . . . .  51  Publicity For Shareware . .  9
          Disk Labels . . . . . . . . .  49  Registrations . . . . . . . 31
          Disk Mailers  . . . . . . . .  52  Retail Distributors . . . . 32
          Disk Vendors  . . . . . . . .  25  Retail-Only . . . . . . . .  7
          Disks - Blank . . . . . . . .  51  Self-Extract Files  . . . . 68
          Distribution  . . . . . . . .  11  Setting Prices  . . . . . . 32
          Distributor Registrations . .  31  Software Patents  . . . . . 28
          Documentation . . . . . . . .  43  Trademarks  . . . . . . . . 29
          Documentation Formatting  . .  43  Universal Product Codes . . 55
          Error Trapping  . . . . . . .  38  User Groups . . . . . . . . 12
          FAX Machines  . . . . . . . .  49  Vendors . . . . . . . . . . 25
          File Organization . . . . . .  41  Viruses . . . . . . . . . . 13
          Fluegelman, Andrew  . . . . .   3  Virx/Virex-PC Scanners  . . 13
          Formatting Documentation  . .  43  Visa Card . . . . . . . . . 55
          Freeware  . . . . . . . . . .   3  Warranties  . . . . . . . . 31
          Help Screens  . . . . . . . .  37  WATS Lines  . . . . . . . . 47

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