I’ve only done this once before, many years ago now. I’m mostly posting here because I think this is an important thing for writers to know: that while we should never walk away from a contract lightly (and I definitely didn’t make this particular decision lightly), there are, unfortunately, times when we do need to walk.
When is a highly individual decision, of course. What’s important to remember is that until you’ve signed that contract, no one is bound to anything, and that you do have the right not to sign. You also have the right to negotiate troublesome clauses, because much more often than not, an agreement actually can be reached.
(If anyone wants to know the details, feel free to email me; I’m happy to discuss them privately.)