If you're a New Labour grandee just about to publish in time for the Party Conference season you're not going to be too happy that "the done thing" is to donate all the proceeds to charity.
I can now see the real reason why Mandelson got his memoirs out so insensitivity close to Labour losing the last election. He obviously didn't want to do it AFTER Blair, otherwise his "lack of donation" would have made him look even more of a kvnt.