A few months ago, I spent some time reading on another forum, where some well-known authors post.
It was unsettling to see the fear they have of ebooks - not just piracy, but of ebook sales cannibalizing their more lucrative p-book sales (which seems wrong to me, but..).
So some were trying to stem the tide they fear, some by holding out on releasing ebook versions of their new and backlist books, and some by pricing out of range to discourage the ebook purchase.
I feel for them, but it's clear that their reaction is based on panic and listening to the wrong people.
I think they would be better off to consider that the book industry has been in need of a boost of new readers. Even pirated books create more readers, particularly among young people, as they set aside other things, like TV, and discover the joys of reading.
For some of us addicts, the analogy of crack dealers hooking customers isn't too far off.
Seriously, were I an author, I'd focus on the old adage, "If you can't beat them, join them."
There's a psychological element, too. Rather than position themselves as adversarial to e-readers, they should embrace this new audience, taking advantage of the ability to interact and thus win our affection.
Making the ebooks and yourself more accessible gains loyalty and good will (which makes them want to pay you), and most likely more sales than they would have had in a paper-only world.
It's so simple, and many authors already get it. But it's interesting to wonder why they all don't.