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I'm an author, and I have three of my backlist books at Smashwords--soon to be four. I was quite pleased to receive the notice about the change in terms. For one thing--did no one even notice this?--the royalty rate to the author for Smashwords books sold at B&N and other stores increases from 40-something percent to 60%. Who doesn't like that?
As for the agency thing, what's the big deal? Yeah, these stores are acting as my agent in selling the books and taking a cut. Most of these books are only $2 or $3, the vast majority under $5. If people are going to get incensed about writers having a chance to set their own prices on books that are selling at the very bottom of the market, price-wise, then my feeling is that some people have way too much time on their hands.
Plus, of course, the thing about Amazon.
Mind you, most of the writers I've talked to really aren't getting all that many sales at SW, anyway, so that really puts the teapot in perspective. Mileage may vary, obviously.
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