Do authors still write their stories by hand on paper with a pencil, or ink?
By this I mean the book itself, not ideas etc.
Do many authors still write their stories on a typewriter?
If the answer to either of these is no (or mainly no), then a story from its conception exists as a binary file in a computer.
To my uncertain knowledge most commercial newspapers, these days, start of with their content as a binary file in a computer.
This file is then available for any number of current, and hopefully future, methods by which stories can be read.
The writer deserves to be recompensed for their effort in producing the story, deserves to be recognised as the author of the story, whether that recognition is by patent or copyright is immaterial.
Surely the author has the right to maintain some control over their produce? Unless they sign part or all of that right away to another party, the distributor.
If my first questions have been answered "yes" - for a majority; then what extras need to be added to the financial equation? editorial and advertising are the two main ones I can think of. Whether we are looking at an e-format or a paper format, the next extra is storage/printing. Why therefore should a "book" that exists in its original state as an electronic file, cost nearly the same as a hardback book? - which is what we see with many new publications.
Where is Solomon when you need him?
What was this thread about, again?