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I, for one, love your idea. The publishers don't seem to realize this, but the readers control the market. Without readers, there are no authors, publishers, or retailers.
I believe that readers want e-books and I believe they want them (a) released at the same time as the paper format, (b) at a fair price, definitely less than the paperback, (c) without DRM (which is too intrusive in its current form) so they can convert it for future use on other platforms, and (d) with text-to-speech and lending (if available with the hardware) enabled.
If enough people voted with their wallets, and supported those titles that adhered to those rules, even the big publishers would have to take notice. Or, some newer, leaner company would come in and provide what readers want and put the old guard out of business. Or, perhaps the whole paradigm changes, and we have authors hiring editors and cover artists and then selling directly to readers.
The only issue I see is that, for the most part, the people giving you what you want are indie authors, or maybe "traditional" authors who have regained control of their backlists and are savvy enough to see the future coming. So, for people who want the big new releases from the famous authors with all the advertising, they'll have a hard choice to make. It would take a lot of people buying a lot of books from authors/publishers that "get it" and refusing to buy anything else. It would take a large drop in print book sales to force publishers to stop doing "business as usual."
What you have going for your idea is that indie works are starting to gain acceptance and readership. With distribution through Amazon, CreateSpace, Lulu, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, etc., indie authors can actually be more than a blip on the radar screen. A few can even make enough noise to get big publishers to wake up and maybe wonder why an unknown indie author or some backlist title they gave up on is outselling some of the stuff they're putting out. Some big-name authors will decide they don't need publishers anymore.
I can also tell you that spirited advocacy from a devoted reader goes a long way. Not just from a "Why did I give up a real paying job to do this?" moral support perspective (which is important), but writing reviews, telling your friends, posting on boards like this one, blogging, etc. can make a HUGE difference to indie authors. Your support will have a much greater impact on someone starting small than on a NY bestseller that's already getting lots of publicity.
Sorry for rambling, but I'm very passionate about this -- and not only from an author's point of view. I'm an avid reader too, and I hate to see e-books artificially held back from their potential.
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