> it makes sense for many authors to go to a publisher and have a back-and-forth with an editor and end up with only 10% of the gross sales, and this implies that 90% of the value isn't really coming from the author
I'm not arguing for any kind of philosophical "labor theory of value". My point is very practical: writers need royalties. Yes it sucks for the writers that they only get 10-20% of the sales, but it's infinitely better than 0%!
> as you agree, most authors cannot sustain themselves from just the writing, only rare exceptions like JK Rowling and Stephen King.
I don't agree with that and didn't say it. In fact it's empirically false. I said that in the hypothetical scenario with no royalties, most authors wouldn't be able to sustain themselves. In the real world, there are a lot of professional writers other than Rowling and King who make a decent, good, or even great living.
The reason that the film writers and actors are going on strike is that streaming and AI are an existential threat to them. But it can't be an existential threat if they don't exist in the first place. Professional writers and actors do exist aside from the super rich and famous ones (who are striking more in solidarity than from personal fear). Of course show business is very difficult to get into; nonetheless, it's a lucrative industry supporting countless professionals. And most of them need their royalties, because they don't get the giant unfront checks that the big stars do.
I'm not arguing for any kind of philosophical "labor theory of value". My point is very practical: writers need royalties. Yes it sucks for the writers that they only get 10-20% of the sales, but it's infinitely better than 0%!
> as you agree, most authors cannot sustain themselves from just the writing, only rare exceptions like JK Rowling and Stephen King.
I don't agree with that and didn't say it. In fact it's empirically false. I said that in the hypothetical scenario with no royalties, most authors wouldn't be able to sustain themselves. In the real world, there are a lot of professional writers other than Rowling and King who make a decent, good, or even great living.
The reason that the film writers and actors are going on strike is that streaming and AI are an existential threat to them. But it can't be an existential threat if they don't exist in the first place. Professional writers and actors do exist aside from the super rich and famous ones (who are striking more in solidarity than from personal fear). Of course show business is very difficult to get into; nonetheless, it's a lucrative industry supporting countless professionals. And most of them need their royalties, because they don't get the giant unfront checks that the big stars do.