Lessons from the past

This whole OpenID malarky beings back memories of the past for me.

A few years back i had written a LOT of books and articles from Wrox Press. Finally, in one last 6 month spell i wrote three books, devoting all my time to write the books. It was at around that time my first son, Xavier was being born. I figured i couldn't lose and things would be rosy at the end.

Then Wrox went bust and parts of the company got sold to other book companies. I lost all royalties (which would have been significant given the effort i put in, which was 7AM to 10PM for 6 months). Whatmore, i (and many other authors) lost all rights to what i had written - which was still being sold in the stores (in fact, a friend even bought one last week!). So i had given all my time and work for free (expecting a return at some point) and got zilch in return. In fact I lost 6 months cash on top of that as i stopped consulting. It took me a long time to get back on my feet, especially with the expenses of a new baby.

So I have learned to be a little more guarded over what i have. I want to avoid the pattern of me having something valuable, giving it away for nothing and getting nothing tangeable or intengeable out of it. I'm still an entrepreneur and have visions of doing and being involved in innovative stuff - that will always override the financial aspect. But when you're based in Scotland, being part of that crowd means thinking outside the box.