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I'm pleased to have outsold great writers. But I'm not insane - I realize I am a writer people buy to take on vacation.

I am happy that I'm a better novelist than a screenwriter.

Any good writer is going to be well-received and is going to not be well-received; that's how you know you're a great writer.

I didn't think I would be an exceptional writer, and I thought I might be a useful publisher. I've never regretted it.

I felt like I was never going to be a great writer. I felt like I was going to be a good writer at best. I wanted to be great at something.

I had to produce a complete page - or two or three - in one day. I took a lot of pride in my work, and I hated to do a mediocre job. Evidently, some of the writers enjoyed my work best of all for that very reason.

Before my book, 'California,' came out, I had modest hopes for it. Or, let's put it this way - I had the same hopes that every literary fiction writer in America has: I wanted the novel to be well-received, critically. As for sales? I didn't want it to disappoint, but I didn't expect it to be a best-seller, either.

I'm always prepared for the worst. I was prepared to have the book come out, sell seven copies, and have to keep working in advertising, so it was just great that it was received so well and by such a huge audience.

I was incredibly lucky that my first book found a large and loyal readership. It changed my life - from being a very withdrawn adult to living in Paris as a full-time writer. It has also given me enormous confidence.

But a lot of writers - and I'm one of them - do tend to feel dissatisfied. It makes you a little hard to live with, but it's a goad and does keep you alert and restless.