My Book Got Canceled by My Publisher and There's Nothing I Can Do About It
Market forces and artistic careers
Hello Protagonists!
Some of you are eagle-eyed fans of my books, and you noticed that Princess Private Eye 2 (the sequel in my children’s book series) did not come out on May 7th this year like it was supposed to.
Why?
Well, my publisher, Disney, canceled its publication.
Okay, technically, they put it on “indefinite hold,” but right now, the publication date is listed as January 2, 2079… I would be 99 1/2 years old then.
It’s sad because the book was completely done. It was written, thoroughly edited, proofread, and designed (both interior and exterior). All that remained was for Disney to send it to the printers and ship it to stores.
And yet…
The market for middle grade novels (readers 8-12 years old) has been in a slump.
Post-pandemic, those kids are not reading.
Here’s data from Circana BookScan that shows that sales of middle grade books are down 1.8 million copies from last year. That’s part of an ongoing trend.
And new data shows that only 2 in 5 children (ages 8-18) read in their spare time. As a parent of a voracious reader (and as someone who was a voracious reader as a child myself), this makes me so, so sad.
Nevertheless, I don’t fault Disney.
I do understand that businesses need to pay attention to their overall financial health.
The low sales numbers for Princess Private Eye (Book 1) reflected the decline in the middle grade book market. And given the lack of readers ages 8-12, Disney would have lost money by paying for printing and shipping Princess Private Eye 2.
DO NOT WORRY! They paid out my contract for the work I did, so I’m all good there.
Can I get the rights back and publish Princess Private Eye 2 myself?
In this case, no, because this was a work-for-hire gig. The idea for a new Disney princess was theirs, and they asked me to write it. So they own the idea and the books and can do (or not do) what they want with it.
This is the reality of life in an artistic career.
Think about movies and TV shows—sometimes they’re in production and ready to go, but then the studios cancel them. What happened to Princess Private Eye 2 is basically the same thing, in the writing world.
Is it disappointing? Of course it is.
Will I survive? Abso-effing-lutely. Because I’ve been in this career long enough to know that no matter what level of success you hit, there will always be ebbs and flows, ups and downs, but in the long run, you just stay in the boat and enjoy the ride.
I know a lot of you will be mad about this on my behalf. Thank you for defending me like that. But I’m okay, really! I’ve published 9 books. It could have been 10 by now, but that’s okay.
I write because I love writing.
And I will keep doing it, even if some stories don’t see the light of day.
Want to support my writing that did get published?
I write novels for adult, teens, and kids, so I’d love if you would buy one of my books for yourself or a reader in your life. There’s something for everyone!
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As a librarian at an intermediate school, I can say that age group is not reading like they were. We used Accelerated Reader and held them accountable--it was a part of their grade. After the pandemic, it was not, so the teachers have nothing to hold over them to make them read. It makes me so sad.
So sorry to hear this news. I fear for our future right now, with so few embracing reading - which is the gateway to so much knowledge. Kids need to PICK UP A BOOK. My daughter is a voracious reader and always has been. My son is dyslexic and we had to fight to give him literacy. This summer, he volunteered at the library and came away with an important insight about what the librarians did (paraphrasing what he said) - school often does not instill a love of reading for pleasure or enjoyment and frankly makes reading all work, but the library set up activities and events designed to show kids that there are books that kids will actually enjoy and to help them find the books that is their niche interest. You and I of course recognize that truth, but the fact that it is an insight for a smart 16 year old makes me sad for the future. Keep writing!!!