Lew Shiner, one of the best writers (period), is interviewed over at S1ngularity. Sez he:
The bottom line is, I have to find projects that excite me enough that I want to write them no matter what–whether they get published or not, whether anyone but my friends ever see them. That way I can focus on the process of writing, and actually take pleasure in that, instead of being obsessed with trying to crack the bestseller list. And the thing that is most satisfying to me is to produce a book that I’ll still be proud of down the line.