Are you writing for yourself, for readers or for sales?

I have read here, and on other writers' blogs, that some of them are writing their novels thinking at sales and writing what the reader might want.

But while I am thinking at my potential readers too when I am writing (such as in the choice of words, in offering footnote explanations when characters and historical facts which might not be of common knowledge are mentioned in the text, etc.) I am not choosing from the start a subject meant first and foremost to appeal to readers in the way others do (such as sending first an idea to find a publisher, then writing the novel only after getting the publisher's acceptance, or thinking about subjects the others would want to read in the detriment of subjects which appeal to her to write). I am of the concept that if a novel is well written, it will find its audience to enjoy it. And it is better to seek to publish a novel already written, than an idea which might never get finished, or the publisher might go bankrupt/ change his mind afterwards.

I am writing the story which has grown in my mind and wants out. Once materialized into a novel, I find the best publisher for that novel. I feel I couldn't write anything else than what is in my inspiration. What about you?

As an economist, I can say that sales are an indicator of success like any other. Just... how many writers have actually got rich from writing? Not too many (a few bestseller authors aside, and those mostly in the English language literature. My novels aren't written in English and I have learnt from various writers and especially publishers that most book marketing advices I am reading on internet are focusing on the English language market, which is different from our national one and from others - French, Greek, etc. I guess the main differences are 1) in the English literary world one uses very much agents, where here they are unknown, their work being split between the writer and the publisher, 2) the English literary world promotes very much e-books, which here aren't sought and 3) the English literary world measures its success in several tens millions of readers, while other countries don't have that number as full population, out of which the children, most of rural population and other segments are definitely not among the target readers anyway - but there are plenty of others.)

With the knowledge that not many writers have got rich from writing, I am pursuing as success indicator the number of readers and where they are spread. The opportunity of having offered my novels to friends who are now living in France, US, Canada or in different counties of my country (as I don't have possibility to make tours in other counties) is, for me, an indicator of success. I have published with a small, indie press and it ensures literary events only in the capital (unless the authors have the connections to arrange for events elsewhere).

The fact that I have given (to people who actively wanted my novels) already 3 boxes' contents before the official launching (of the third novel) was also a sign of success for me. Many writers I know, from the same publishing house or from other small ones, give their books for free. I do some sales too, in the measure of the possibilities, but I have always counted the readers and their feed-back (and the literary critics' feed-back) as a measure of success. I was surprised that some people here seem to be concerned about sales rates...