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Of course I want to be a best seller because I'm in the business and I want to be read, but there is no money in the world that can compensate for writing badly.

A best-seller was a book which somehow sold well because it was selling well.

I always read the translator's draft all the way through - a very laborious business.

The best translations are always the ones in the language the author can't read.

I want to be read, and I certainly want to sell, but I also see my father's eye from Heaven: 'Always write quality. It doesn't matter if you sell; if it's good, it's good - if you capture the complexity of life.'

And I always read the English translation and always have conversations with my translator, for example about the names. I always have to approve it.

What I tend to get from America is very enthusiastic letters and e-mail from librarians and schoolteachers, the gatekeepers, though I hesitate to use that word. I've never been a huge seller.

I never sell a book. I sell myself. And the way to sell yourself is to be an instrument of love.

I have some assets that over time will be worth something. I've been in the process of selling others.