As a novelist, I have to keep abreast with the distribution and marketing issues that affect books. Even if you aren't part this world, you'd have to have been on an extended vacation (say, to Mars and back) not to know about the creation and sale of eBooks (digital books), and how this new format has as changed the publishing industry.
In this letter to its members, Scott Turow, President of the Writers Guild, explains how the Department of Justice's suit against five major book publishers and Apple may in fact financially undercut authors in two ways.
First, should it strengthen the largest book retailer, Amazon, eventually authors may get paid even less for their books.
Secondly, they'll have less places in which to distribute and promote their books.
