[SCdF]

I am guessing this works for you because more people reading = more people talking = more readers discovering and potential sales?

It would be interesting to see at what point of notoriety that is no longer true. Like is this still a factor for Stephen King, or at that point is it really just lost sales?

[shakna]

That's my interpretation of it.

As for scale... There is only a tiny fraction of the industry that can support their life on writer's income, let alone be a household name.

It probably does become just lost sales at that point, but to reach that, you're probably already beyond most competitive forces, leaving only piracy around.