Why write that short story, that novel, that poem? There’s certainly no lack of supply to fill the demand. How many millions of short stories are written? How many billions of poems?
What constitutes the demand? Readers seeking entertainment, something thought-provoking, escape, or appreciation of art. Publishers need to fill their pockets to justify being in a business that fulfills this demand. Self-publishing fulfills both the vanity of the writer primarily, and secondarily, allows some gems to be displayed that may not have ever been seen if the trend or the preference of major publishing houses might have passed on them simply because they did not suit the tastes of the time nor been worth the risk to find out if a new following (sales) could be anticipated.
So the writer must be convinced that his own work is fulfilling more than his vanity, but the demand of the reader. Otherwise, the efforts and the time expended, unless accepted as fulfilling the sense of self-satisfaction in the writing alone, would better be spent elsewhere. Think of it, the hours–maybe sixty, I didn’t count–I’ve spent on this single story used instead at working to discover a cure for cancer. But I don’t know the first thing about how to do that and had I been more moved in that direction when younger, I might have achieved some level of competence, so I must leave that to others–those who aren’t driven to write stories, perhaps.
Write for yourself? Okay, if you must. That’s what I do, here at Spinning and elsewhere (though still undeniably hoping for audience). But that’s rather a selfish viewpoint if your talents lie elsewhere and is taking a huge amount of time away from an area where you can do more good. Our lifetime is limited. Writing takes a lot of time within it. At some point I think it is necessary for me, at least, to decide if it is vanity driven and thus could be allotted hobby time, or more seriously taken to strive towards a valuable and viable fulfillment of a larger need than my own.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology