That's... kind of a weird question. I mean, you always want to give readers what they want: a good story. But you also want it to be something that they didn't know they wanted until they read it. That's kind of the point.

Right? It's nonsensical! You never give them what they want, exactly, but you give them what the story needs and it usually turns out that's what they want...

Mailing lists sound like the very devil and I'm glad you had something to keep you happy during that time! :)