Well, you're probably right that reading as a whole is on the decline and that people are moving to the Internet and movies and music and TV and Twitter instead of books. But, I don't think that (as the OP asks) e-books will spell the end of great writing. Could all these alternative forms of entertainment hurt writing? Certainly, and they probably already have. But I think e-books will help, not hurt (I think it will better appeal to a younger generation that is used to consuming media electronically).
And I do know how badly the odds are stacked against writers even making a living, let alone for independent authors. But, I'm happy to say that I'm much closer to that goal now than a few years ago when e-books were just a blip on the radar. At least now I have some hope.
