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I don't think that the transition from p-books to e-books, meaning that p-books will eventually disappear, is necessarily a positive thing. And I say this because I like p-books.
I would like to propose a solution:
Sell ebooks as only text (meaning without the cover) with the money from the purchase going only to the author. Sell the cover separately with the money going to both publisher and author, based on a contract. Then the cover can either be:
1. in digital format, to go with the book
2. as a souvenir (like a postcard)
3. a cover for the ereader (the author/publisher can show support for a brand of ereaders)
4. an actual book cover. I left this for last because this is what I would like to have: the option that if I like the book, I could go to a printer, print the contents of the book, and have it attached to the nice cover. Then you could also have the book printed in different font sizes, depending on eye-sight. Also, this could work for anybody who is concerned about not having anything to read at candle light in the post-apocalyptic world, after an EMP hits.
The main reason why I think that this could work is because there are many people who think that only the author deserves money, and like this they could buy only the book. Then there are the people who like to buy anything that is connected to their favorite author, so they could buy anything that the publishers make, most likely at ridiculously high prices. Then they can make the books really cheap, and without any geo restrictions, and keep the restrictions for the covers. And it would also be easier for the publishers to determine if a new author would be profitable, based on how many books they sell.
And to anybody who thinks that in such a case people would only buy the book and not the cover, think about this: if a publisher would print a small book with favorite quotes from the twilight books, how many of the women that have already seen the films, and read the books, would buy it without a second thought, regardless of the price?
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