Here [the U.S.], in the normal situation, the writer depends on the reader, he depends on the sales. The more sales, and the more readers like you—the better for the writer.

In Russia, before the revolution, after the revolution, the most popular writers were forbidden—it was impossible to buy or sell these books. But these were the most popular writings, so the ideal of writing was not to entertain, was not to sell. The idea of writing was to ask some questions that were very important for the writer himself, with the understanding that his book might never reach a reader.

http://theamericanreader.com/a-conversation-with-mikhail-shishkin/