"On the other hand publishers are trying to protect their industry as a whole, and the lowering of costs WILL affect benefits to AUTHORS. Already has."
If you mean toward the positive, then you're correct. More and more authors are beginning to realize that they have spent their careers being more or less ripped off by publishers. Authors get pennies on the dollar for books sold, even though they do the lion's share of the work and are also what makes the industry possible.
Now that technology has leveled the playing field, authors going direct to Amazon and B&N and Kobo and Apple are finding that a world without publishers is much more lucrative.
Most traditionally published authors have to maintain day jobs in order to survive. Those who have transitioned to self-publishing through Amazon, etc., have discovered that they can make a nice living wage.
So, yes, ebooks and technology DO affect benefits to authors. In a very positive way. They now have choices. And, because they can self-publish, they have more negotiating power when they decide to go with traditional publishers.
"The best books will still be published on paper."
Really? Where does THIS tidbit come from? You prefer paper. I used to, too. But there are as many crap paper books as there are ebooks.
By the way, Amazon also provides self-publishers an avenue for publishing print books as well. So I'm not sure what your point is, here.
"On the other hand Amazon has too much power, but they have done many things well."
No one handed power to Amazon. They built their business, made smart moves, learned to innovate, and now dominate the marketplace. Why does this bother people so?
Other companies, including publishers, could easily have taken a longer look at the market and realized where it was heading. Amazon was smart enough to see far into the distance and adjust their business model accordingly.
So why hate on Amazon for being smart and successful? Others are free to compete, including the publishers, who could pull all of their books from Amazon and sell them on their own. But they won't do that. Because THEY DON'T KNOW HOW.
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