I canceled my book deal

4 months ago

The author was approached by multiple publishers to write a book but chose self-publishing initially.
An acquisitions editor with a similar background convinced the author to sign with a publisher.
The book concept involved classic programming projects with self-contained tutorials teaching fundamental computing concepts.
The author demonstrated market potential by showing millions of views on related blog posts.
Contract negotiations included word count, illustrations, royalties, and an advance of $5000.
Royalties were set at 12% for the first 7000 copies and 15% thereafter, with 50% for foreign translations.
The publisher's median book sales were in the single thousands, with top sellers reaching hundreds of thousands.
The author was assigned an editor who provided detailed style guidelines and frequent feedback.
The publisher pushed to dumb down the content and add an introductory Python chapter, which the author resisted.
The publisher insisted on incorporating AI into the book, which the author firmly declined.
The author missed deadlines due to work and personal commitments, leading to tension with the publisher.
Feedback from technical editors was mixed, with some misunderstanding the book's intent.
The author decided to freeze the project due to lack of enjoyment and overwhelming personal commitments.
The publisher terminated the contract, returning all rights to the author.
The author still loves the book idea and may self-publish or pursue other projects.

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