Do Writers Write For Themselves Or For An Audience?

An author writes because they enjoy it, so really it is for themselves, although it will almost become as though it is for an audience at some point, particularly if the book is a success and there is a demand for more.

Obviously if you are writing for a particular age group, such as children, then you will have to bear this in mind whilst you are writing the novel, which will make it seem as though you are writing for an audience. At the end of the day, authors write because that is the career path that they have chosen. Obviously they must be writing for their own enjoyment, otherwise they wouldn't do it.

Authors write for themselves in the way that they choose what happens in their own books, and are not swayed by the opinions of their readers. If an author plans to kill off a particular character that is popular, then they will do it, because it is their story and that is the direction they want it to go in. They produce work that they are satisfied with, and just hope that everyone else will be.