Making Money from your Hobbies?

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

In the last week, I discovered I have the potential to make some money from my main hobbies, which surprised me. If you read the last really bloggy post I made, I’ve been in contact with GreyGhost about publishing a Roleplaying Adventure. This included some artwork I did for it. I don’t even consider myself a good artist even.

Then I released TDO Mini Forms plugin for WordPress which came out of the code I did for GCG. I enjoy coding. I learn and I create something useful. However someone offered me money to add a feature. Wow. I’d love to take his money however I can’t do that on my current host as it’s against the rules. Still, the potential is there. Other wordpress plugins I wrote (here and here and you can see all the software I’ve made available here), have been warmly received by the greater wordpress community. Search and Replace has got mentioned in a few articles as a necessary plugin for WordPress. The point is, if I moved to another host, I could ask for money and I’d probably get some.

Of course, I’m not going to quit my day job to start writing Roleplaying Games and WordPress Plugins, but I wonder how making money off these things would effect my output. Right now, I have freedom to try and do anything I like. I’m not bound. But I wonder if I think I can make money, would I attempt to streamline or focus on things that would make more money? i.e. would I discard interesting ideas because I think they wouldn’t make money?

It also might be a good thing, making me write even better stuff and really support the plugins I have written. Or even just as a nice little kick-back for knowing that there are people out there who are willing to give me money to do the things I love. As in, I’m no longer working in a “vacuum”, but actually engaging people.

Thoughts and opinions?

thedeadone.net