Ending A Series

I finally finished reading one of my favorite book series only to be disappointed by the ending.  As a fan, I was crushed.  This wasn't the first time I had been let down with the way an author concluded a series, but this was the hardest one for me to recover from. 

As a writer, I was left wondering . . . how then do I end my own series?  How do I stay true to my fans and to myself?  Where's the balance?

After many, many searches I came up with three good answers:


1. Be true to your book and your characters.  Find an end that seems natural and consistent.  In other words, Keep It Real!

2. Deliver what you promised or at the very least answer questions.  If you are lucky enough to have people fall in love with a character to read all the way through a series, then at least give the readers the answers to their questions - even if it isn't happy - just be sure to be detailed enough to show why it isn't happy.

3. Finally, make the reader either feel something or think something.  Again, if the readers have stayed with you this long congratulations.  Now just give those readers something to really remember your characters or your story.