I think in the publishing business we sometimes don't give readers enough credit, but the opposite of that can also be true. A lot of this is due to the preferred genres and the resulting editorial methodology.
In recent years, editors fretted about changing points of view from one character to another in the middle of an ongoing scene. In other words, when the author chose to give more than one character an immediate reaction or comment to something in a scene, hairs stood on end and frantic editors donned their red pens with a vengeance. Italics became another faux pas and the victim of the red pen. However, most readers took those things in stride and were not disrupted from or disgruntled with the stories they were reading by these or other "wrong" labeling by editors.
Obedient authors tend to do as the editors tell them or risk the consequences. I made it my mission to ask many different readers about certain editorial complaints and corrections. The only readers who voiced any concerns about these supposedly critical necessities in writing were authors, not "just" readers. Authors hear about all the no-nos, all the negative writing mistakes (which can often be trends which tend to disappear after awhile), and condition themselves to recognize and avoid these nasty measures so of course they notice them when they occur in a story. Readers just keep reading. If they like the story and enjoy the characters, it takes a major move to ruin the book for them – more like a lousy ending than any writing technique.
Just some Friday musings . . .
Father, thank you for the variety of writers you inspire. Please help each one of us be who you designed us to be. We're desperate for you. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
Into the Fire 
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