Additionally, I think your first two points mostly address the outliers on the bell curve.
It seems to me that GP's solution would be at least somewhat more fair than the current system although its certainly not perfect.
It's much easier to make a book sound epic, insightful and/or wonderful than it is to actually write something like that. It might take a while for the user to give up, but who cares if people only get 50-100 pages into your book before quitting if you can attract multiple times more people?
> Additionally, I think you're first two points mostly address the outliers on the bell curve.
I have personally alternated between those extremes in the last six months. I've read multiple thousands of pages one month, and been too busy to read anything the next. I also suspect there's a population of people that will sign up and forget about it for long periods - just like gym memberships.
I don't see how that is any different with a per-user pot than the current system?
That said, that's not a good reason in my mind, since we shouldn't be afraid of stopping abuse just because we are afraid it will shift to another area, as it's still progress. I retract that specific example (but I think the others are worth thinking about).