I'd like to summarize some of the background to Haskell Programming from First Principles' development and finalization.
A brief summary of events
Julie and I worked together on the book as equal partners until we started to disagree about its direction. Even though we had different ideas and work needs, I explicitly expressed my intention that we still finish the first edition of the Haskell Book together. The book was in limbo after that point. Work from both of us after that was sporadic and unfocused. There was disagreement on whether the book needed further editing to be finalized and printed. The emails we got about syntax errors, typos and other issues in the book seemed conclusive to me that it did need further editing. I suggested an editor for the book which Julie rejected. It became more and more difficult for Julie and I to communicate with each other about the book which created more tension.
In October 2017, Julie demanded that I enter into negotiations with her over the book's completion and management. This is when the lawyers started talking. We tried working through different scenarios such as:
- We would continue as equal partners, but there's a structured agreement in place for the book's completion and management.
- I would sell Julie my rights in the book or vice versa.
There was a lot of back and forth and it took nearly a year of negotiations before we arrived at an agreement. Work on the book was halted because we could not agree and our working relationship had soured. The final agreement that we arrived at was based largely on the terms Julie demanded. It was supposed to be an amicable resolution to our problems. Julie got what she wanted and would benefit from the book's final publication and the readers would finally get a finished product. The agreement included a confidentiality clause as well. To see Julie attack me online with spiteful insinuations and untruthful comments about me and what happened with the book after she voluntarily signed the agreement is upsetting.
What happens now
The book is going through its final edit. When that is done the final electronic version will be published and then the print version will be sorted out.