I have to say I don't agree with what they did to you. I don't think you did anything wrong. It's almost as if they were pissed at you because you thought of a viable marketing tactic before they did.
This is the problem with relying on big companies when you use the Internet to make your living. I learned early on that in order to succeed online you need to have several income streams and you can never put all your eggs in one basket, so to speak.
At any rate, you seem like a very intelligent and motivated person, so I have no doubt that you will not only recover from this, you will excel.