I would be completely onboard with an author cut down if that change would happen for sure. You both have pretty much said what I personally as a writer am thinking. I don't really want to invest or curate, I enjoy the writing process, but I won't lie and say I do it for pure fun with no profit in mind.
I would be interested in what @dan and @ned would think of giving the authors pure SBD instead of the split. I imagine they want the split for steem stability and longevity forcibly though.