Nom de Plume

It's come to this — I'm taking my name off of a book I worked on. I could use a clever and suitable pseudonym, if I could think of one, but I haven't thought of one. I thought about using "Alan Smithee," but that would be too obvious, and I don't want to draw attention. I'm not doing this to be a jerk, I'm doing this because I believe the quality of this book, and my work on this book, has been compromised. I don't want my name associated with it.

I know, I know — it isn't my book — but when I put this much work into a project, I have a vested interest (and, I think, a responsibility) to see it through to be the best it can be.

I've been back and forth (and back and forth) with the Author of this book for months, expressing concerns about the poor quality of many of the photos — I felt they were inadequate for print, and to use them would make the book appear amateurish. (The publisher is well-meaning, but more hands-off in these difficult situations than he ought to be.) I went to great lengths to research and find replacement images, where possible, but those efforts have gone largely unacknowledged. The Author has become a pest (this will be the second time I've had to substantially rework this book) and I've spent much, much more time on this project than I'll ever be properly compensated for. By now, I just want it off my desk.

I spent most of this day working to finish this book, and I should be done with it tomorrow (by which I mean, today.) Tomorrow — or is that today? — cannot come too soon.