The word for the whole experience is 'heartbreaking'. When I first became suspicious about some of the wierder goings on of Brian's business, I didn't *want* to believe it, so I tuned a lot out until I no longer could without feeling like an idiot.Vitus von Atzinger wrote:A vast majority of Brian's stunts are just not known to the average guy who talks to him once or twice a year. After you sit down with people who know about this stuff your mind will quickly be blown. The sheer amount of lying, scheming and cheating the guy has done is utterly astounding. I cannot understand what would let a person DO these things to so many people.
It's all ironic, because Brian did a lot in his early writings to elucidate the idea of renown. He seems to have forgotten that the negative renown mechanism applies to him too.
It's such a shame because the company was capable of, and did, much good early on. Heck, I got my first book published there, and this was fueled by Brian's faith in the project, and our friendship early on. For such a noble undertaking to have descended into such freakish disrepute is...well, abomination is the word I'm looking for.
Sigh. Well, you said it best: what a drag.
On the positive side: the experience taught Greg, Tom (Leoni), Adam (Velez), and I how *not* to run a business. We're now really happy with the direction our new business is going, and look forward to many years of not only successful publishing, but treating our authors, vendors, and resellers as fellow travelers on the chivalric path - not as disposable commodities.
Yours,
Christian