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Some powerful authors withhold electronic editions because of the economic issue -- if they get 15% of what the publisher gets, then they'll get more from an $8 paperback than from a $4 ebook. And we're all complaining that we want the ebooks to cost less than the paper books because of lower distribution and production costs. Yet contracts are in percentages, so lower prices mean lower profits for writers. We can't have it both ways.
Other authors are against ebooks because of moral issues -- they are firmly entrenched in the "to be a book worth reading it has to be on paper" school of traditionalists.
No matter where an author stands, I encourage all of us to let them know 1) if we want them to release ebook versions for the Sony Reader; 2) that we won't be buying any paper books from them anymore (if we make that decision); 3) that they might reconsider if the lack of ebook editions is due to technological phobia.
Additionally, it is important to let the publishers know that you won't be buying any paper versions of their books so if they want your money they'll need to release ebook versions. That way they can figure out how to persuade all their authors (financially and philosophically) to agree.
And the third prong is to let the Sony Connect store know which authors and/or specific books you want them to sell so that they can then go to the publishers with some numbers which will have more impact.
Gradually the world is changing so that more and more books are being released in ebook format, but it takes time and patience. I remember wishing for movies I loved to be released first in VHS format and later in DVD format, and also for older jazz artists to be released in CD format. Just when I had given up hope, there would be what I had been waiting for, staring at me from a shelf in a CD store or video store.
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