I'm not suggesting any type of enforceable obligation has been made. I'm not implying any legal binding, and yes legally speaking the author owes you nothing beyond that single transaction...book for money.
TV & movies don't equate in my view. The investment by the viewer is not the same as the investment of a reader. That reader takes the words you've written, internalized them and offers a bit from their own experience to complete the story in their mind's eye. Sitting down to watch a TV program takes much less input from the viewer (if any at all).
As an author, if I'm expecting people to join me on an epic journey of my creation, to invest enough of themselves to care about the events & characters, then I owe them a conclusion. This is especially true if I've gained a strong following. Those fans are part of an author's success. Success came from the author's hard work, coupled with the reader's investment in the story. It has little to do with monetary exchanges and contracts.
If we're talking about an epic series or even a trilogy, there's certainly some obligation towards that completion if the author has any respect for the people that helped them achieve their success. Authors of successful serial works know full well that a growing fan base will expect continuation to conclusion. The fact that they've started writing an epic in the first place tells us there's an initial desire to complete that story. That initial desire is the source of the author-reader promise. With the writing of a 1st book of a series, that author is promising those that buy it and invest themselves in the work, that there will be more to follow.
TV & movies don't equate in my view. The investment by the viewer is not the same as the investment of a reader. That reader takes the words you've written, internalized them and offers a bit from their own experience to complete the story in their mind's eye. Sitting down to watch a TV program takes much less input from the viewer (if any at all).
As an author, if I'm expecting people to join me on an epic journey of my creation, to invest enough of themselves to care about the events & characters, then I owe them a conclusion. This is especially true if I've gained a strong following. Those fans are part of an author's success. Success came from the author's hard work, coupled with the reader's investment in the story. It has little to do with monetary exchanges and contracts.
If we're talking about an epic series or even a trilogy, there's certainly some obligation towards that completion if the author has any respect for the people that helped them achieve their success. Authors of successful serial works know full well that a growing fan base will expect continuation to conclusion. The fact that they've started writing an epic in the first place tells us there's an initial desire to complete that story. That initial desire is the source of the author-reader promise. With the writing of a 1st book of a series, that author is promising those that buy it and invest themselves in the work, that there will be more to follow.