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It is a bit more complex than that. A mid tier author with an extensive backlist can derive a fairly steady income from re-prints. Maybe not enough to be the sole income, but enough to make a difference between just getting by and being able to afford some luxuries. They are terrified that ebooks will destroy this source of income. While you and I may feel that ebooks are the future, it's a pretty big gamble for these authors.
The other thing to keep in mind is that there is a small group of authors who are very vocal on the subject. Most are sitting back, waiting to see what happens. It's kind of a chicken and egg situation. The authors don't want to release all their content until they know that the market will support them, so some are just releasing a couple of books to see what happens. On the other hand, it's hard to sale hardware until there is enough content. With mp3 players, at least the customers could generate their own content by ripping cd's. That's not the case with with eBooks.
One of the things that counter acts this chicken and egg situation is the public domain books and such publishers like Baen in SF. The other thing to keep in mind is that with the internet and improved scanners, there is a huge number of "pirated" books on the various news groups, irc sites and the like. That is a genie that isn't going back into the bottle.
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