Despite being approached to do the 2nd edition of what was a popular book (in its field), my negotiations on the licensing failed and, as anticipated, the 2nd edition has done extremely poorly compared to the 1st due to new competition and a lack of anyone serious recommending the book because it's not available in an open format to "scope out." (And as someone who recommends books, this is key for me. I can't buy every beginners' book that I don't need merely to judge them for others.)

Your post will serve as interesting ammunition in future discussions between many authors and their publishers, I suspect, and I applaud you for putting it out!