Great points. Even I, after so much time spent writing and trying to get a grip of the writing world to find readers, really, even I spend a lot of my time looking at my stats and trying to see what works and what doesn’t (here on Medium it seems like many pieces I hardly work on do better because they’re hitting a hot topic, rather than something I really bled for). I do this for my books as well.

Your point of giving benefit (real lasting kind) is spot on. I’ll keep that in mind for the future.

Btw, there are many definitions for a writer and you should find one that suits you. I like Steven King’s “if you’ve paid one bill with your writing you’re a writer” since it cuts through some of the more metaphysical (albeit essential) parts of writing and gives us a cut and dried definition made for the age of homo economus. The real definition is if you’ve inspired someone through your writing. That’s hard to ever know, though YMMV.