I think the point is, this is the only way customers have right now to complain
in a forum where those who make decisions might actually listen. So whether it is the author's 'fault' or not is immaterial. Agents/publishers could care less about a handful of people writing random emails to authors. Authors may not even tell their agent/publisher about such things. But a dozen authors sending their agents panicked emails at the sight of their plummeting Amazon ratings? Already, this has gotten more press than all the emails I have sent to authors over the past year. I say, power to the people. After all, they are the ones who pay for all of this.
As to the author in the above post complaining about how little she makes per year relative to how much work she does, I have to admit I don't have much sympathy. A lot of people aren't paid what they are worth. That's life. If she doesn't like it, she can moonlight---as she seems to be
I really don't feel that anyone has a 'right' to make a comfortable middle-class living doing solely things they want to do. Sometimes, you just plain old have to hustle for it, and even then, you might have to make some compromises (for example, my cousin the professional musician who teaches on the side, or myself and my numerous teacher colleagues who ALL tutor on the side but realize we are lucky to have our pays-below-standard jobs in this market when so many teachers we know have no job at all...)