I liked working with APress for my book that they published. They found a very good technical editor for my book project who added a lot of value and the editors were all nice to work with. The only negative thing was that the book did not sell very well so I didn't make money for my business partner (i.e., APress).
The only publisher I ever had a negative experience with was Manning. My project was cancelled and they told me to keep the advance. I wanted to return the advance and own the book and they declined (I think because they had similar titles in the pipeline). However, I continue to think that the owner of Manning is a great guy (I very much enjoyed all of our conversations), and I still buy lots of Manning books (probably 10 in the last year).
The author of the linked article seems kind of bitter and it was unusual that he didn't sign the contract for so long. Anyway, I wish him luck in his future projects - it is great fun writing books.
The only publisher I ever had a negative experience with was Manning. My project was cancelled and they told me to keep the advance. I wanted to return the advance and own the book and they declined (I think because they had similar titles in the pipeline). However, I continue to think that the owner of Manning is a great guy (I very much enjoyed all of our conversations), and I still buy lots of Manning books (probably 10 in the last year).
The author of the linked article seems kind of bitter and it was unusual that he didn't sign the contract for so long. Anyway, I wish him luck in his future projects - it is great fun writing books.