In addition to what others already wrote: As one of those who are responsible for the manual, let me state this:
1) From our side (Scribus documentation team, layouter, proofreaders) there was only a small delay which wouldn't have made much difference in terms of printing and shipping because of the holidays. 2) FLES Books and Benjamin Goodger have been and continue to be 100 % reliable, cooperative and flexible partners. There's absolutely no reason to be disappointed about their work and their dedication, quite the contrary! 3) FLES Books has a contract with a printer, and the latter failed to live up to the contract several times, mostly due to a Byzantine buraucracy in connection with what appears to be sheer incompetence. First, we/FLES Books have been guaranteed to be able to print in the UK and the USA. Once we delivered the PDFs to the printer, it turned out that due to a minor bureaucratic error on the side of the printer, we could only use the UK plant, which means that shipping costs will skyrocket, thus diminishing the revenues for the Scribus project and FLES Books. Next, after delivering the customer list as requested by the printer, an account manager invented reason after reason as to why the order could not be fulfilled -- again: bureaucracy gone mad and red tape all over the place. At the same time, they didn't accept a retraction of orders from customers who asked for a refund. So we and FLES Books are essentially caught between a rock and a hard place. Moreover, the printer refuses to tell us when the books will finally be shipped. Please believe us that we're as upset as many of you, to say the least. I really don't think that we will allow the next edition to be handled by this printer, especially if one considers that the company received money in advance to set up this job. On behalf of the Scribus development and documentation teams, I offer our sincere apologies. For all those who ordered the book and can't wait to have a look at it, please send me a PM. I'll then send you a download link for a PDF file. Christoph -- Psssst! Schon vom neuen GMX MultiMessenger geh?rt? Der kann`s mit allen: http://www.gmx.net/de/go/multimessenger01
