The younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge has been the subject of a fierce bidding war by some of Britain’s largest publishers for her first book. It is understood that publisher Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin books, last week signed her up to a publishing deal worth £400,000. 
 
 According to industry sources, the negotiating process involved delicate discussions about the book’s timing. 
 
 Ms Middleton will wait for the launch of her first book until after the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations next summer so that she is not seen to be cashing in on her royal connections. 
 
 She is keen for the book to be released next year but is determined that she is not seen to be making money from her closeness to the royal family. Therefore the book is likely to be launched late next autumn, after the summer celebrations around the Queen’s Jubilee but in time for the Christmas market. 
 
 “She wanted to publish it next year, but it will be timed to come out after the Jubilee,” said one book industry insider. 
 
 The book will be a guide to being the perfect party hostess. It will include recipes, anecdotes and details of how to throw a range of different types of event. 
 
 The fact that Ms Middleton’s agent David Godwin, whose DGA company also represents Vikram Seth and William Dalrymple, has secured such a high six-figure advance shows that the industry is expecting high sales. 
 
 “It is a massive amount of money, particularly in the current environment,” said one agent. 
 
 According to its website, Michael Joseph publishes “highly commercial, popular fiction and non-fiction, principally interested in publishing Top Ten bestsellers”. Other authors on its roster include Jamie Oliver, Jeremy Clarkson and Ant and Dec. 
 
 Publishers who were also keen on the book are thought to include Harper Collins and Cornerstone, a branch of Random House. 
 
 Ms Middleton has toured around different publishing houses pitching the book over the last few months. Book executives said that she went down a storm. 
 
 Publishers believe that her experience as a professional party-planner at Table Talk, a London-based company, and her regular contributions to The Party Times, the online newsletter of her parent’s Party Pieces firm, make her perfectly positioned to write an authoritative book. 
 
 A spokesman for Michael Joseph was unavailable for comment. ||||| Axed: Pippa Middleton's column in the Daily Telegraph only lasted six months 
 
 Her writing career has not exactly been her crowning glory after her debut book bombed – and now Pippa Middleton’s role as a national newspaper columnist has come to an end too. 
 
 The 30-year-old sister of the Duchess of Cambridge is believed to have been paid a significant fee to write for the Daily Telegraph. But it is claimed she failed to capture readers’ hearts. 
 
 In the Sport and Social column she wrote about a string of antics , including cycling underwater, flipping pancakes, cooking pasta and investigating whether oysters really are an aphrodisiac, which some people reportedly found “silly and boring”. 
 
 Yesterday a source said: “It’s fair to say reader reaction to Pippa’s writing wasn’t great. There were also a few issues with deciding what topics Pippa should and shouldn’t write about.” 
 
 Her less well received column is said to have involved her recommending a recipe by chef Catherine Hill as a family favourite. 
 
 It is understood her rewritten words did not go down well with the paper’s older readership. 
 
 The column only ran for six months and last appeared in March. 
 
 The Telegraph confirmed her contract had ended. 
 
 Getty Royal: Pippa Middleton (left) with her sister, the Duchess of Cambridge 
 
 A spokeswoman said: “The column was great. Pippa Middleton is a professional freelance writer and has gone on to do other things for other publications.” 
 
 When asked whether the decision was Pippa’s or the paper’s, the spokeswoman said: “As far as I am aware it was just one of those things.” 
 
 Earlier this year it was claimed her US book publisher Viking Press decided to let her go after her debut offering, party-planning tome Celebrate, reportedly sold just 18,000 copies. 
 
 It gave readers tips on how to throw the perfect bash and was expected to be a roaring success as her profile rose after Kate and William’s royal wedding. 
 
 But a source from the publisher at the time said: “Pippa’s Celebrate sales are nothing to celebrate. Even Sarah Ferguson sold more books when she started her writing career.” 
 
 Bosses at Waitrose were also forced to eat humble pie and bring their resident cook Delia Smith back into the fold after they dropped her for Pippa . 
 
 Many shoppers were outraged about the decision for the supermarket’s magazine. 
 
 The move was described on Twitter as a “gratuitous insult” to customers. 
 
 Now Pippa and Delia are both associated with the store.
– When do you get paid six figures to write a party planning book? When you’re Pippa Middleton, of course. Her Royal Hotness has officially signed a book deal worth more than $620,000 to write the guide, which will be out by next Christmas, the Telegraph reports. She was originally rumored to be in talks for a deal worth more than twice that amount, which, of course, led to some uproar. Hilariously, the Telegraph notes that Middleton’s book will be released after the Queen’s summertime Diamond Jubilee celebration so that Pippa “is not seen to be cashing in on her royal connections.” To be fair, she does have professional party planning experience, and she regularly contributes to her parents’ online party planning newsletter. That would totally get most normal people a book deal! The guide will reportedly include recipes and stories, as well as instructions for hosting many different events.