[Prestidigitweeze]

I don't think King's doing damage to himself at all.

Yes, e-books are now far more popular than they once were, and the effect of the more portable medium on physical stores is demonstrably great. But the percentage of people who are likely to take King's decision not to publish an ebook this once personally -- let alone attribute nasty motives to him which no one can prove or even suggest are likely -- is far greater on a site like MR than anywhere else.

We're a community of purists by virtue of our interests, and King is anything but -- he's been a populist from the very beginning. I'd be amazed if his decision in this case turned out to be elitist or self-indulgently exclusive, as people have suggested on this thread.

Besides, King is so rich that I doubt a total lack of sales from this point on would even touch him.

If he simply wants to have fun supporting this or that aspect of the book market with each successive book, then let him have his fun. Whether you like his writing or not, he's put in an inhuman amount of time generating novels and he certainly deserves whatever amusement he can derive from his constant task.