Do what I want

Thinking about what writers owe readers.  Not that this is an issue for someone who doesn't have readers, but I've seen a couple of discussions elsewhere about the direction characters go or how often they show up.  Readers, having immediate access to their favorite authors, are unafraid of telling them  online where they have gone wrong. I'm personally guilty of being tired of author "stand alone" books which take them away from my favorite series characters. Of the mystery authors I read, Dennis Lehane has been most guilty of this lately.  And I've just quit reading his books.

The most famous instance is the letters received by Doyle and his publishers after Sherlock Holmes  was "killed" by Moriarty.  An outcry ensued.  Doyle was forced into resurrecting him, much against his own inclination.  He felt pressured and unhappy with this result.

Anthony Trollope killed off a character in the Barchester series when readers complained about her personality.  Then the same readers complained because a lot of the tension left that series of books.  In this instance the readers were wrong.  They were supposed to hate her.  They forced him to continue the series without a villain.

I am one of those readers, my friends.  I'm not gonna get on someone's blog and tell them they are doing it wrong.  But I will quit buying the books.  I missed Angie and Patrick, so I quit reading Lehane.  Mystic River I read, but then my attention wandered.  Haven't read one since. And I have quit reading Elizabeth George because she killed a main character.  That truly peeved me.  In a series I want the main character to have something go right.  After the trials and tribulations of the book, toss the character a bone.  Don't just add to the misery.

I'm not advocating authors arranging panels to make sure they know what the readers want to happen next.  But going in a bold new direction may have its own little problems for you.  Your book sales may decline.  I do think being perverse because you are in a snit (which I think is what happened with Conan Doyle) may cause more headaches than you think.

So what do you owe your readers?