i agree for the most part that it is the person's work that matters. however, when mr. author decides to yell at and then humiliate the 10 year-old behind me, i decide I dont want to support that author. it's the same thing with Goodkind - no matter how good his first novel, the only thing I can think of is him insulting his readers.
on the flip side, there are a number of authors who go out of their way to thank their fans for supporting them. their attitudes make me want to read their novels to support them regardless of whether their books are awesome or terrible. my first meeting with Brandon, for example, impressed me to the point of hard-core pushing his book in my bookstore. he'll be the first to tell you that the signings he had at my store helped his exposure tremendously. people like Kat Richardson, Lawrence Watt-Evans, Glen Cook, Neil Gaiman, John Scalzi, Brandon Sanderson, William Dietz, and Dave Farland make their fans appreciate them even more by not being jack-asses. These are the authors i will support even if sometimes their stuff isnt the greatest (though these authors ARE fabulous!).