I never expected to write about a romance novelist. But last summer I read a story about Danielle Steel in the Roanoke Times that was fascinating and inspiring. I’m always interested in the creative processes and work habits of others.
But first, what are your tools of production? I have a desktop computer in my office, but 97 percent of the time I’m tapping away on my laptop.
Steel, a leader in a genre that racked up $1.37 billion in 2006 book sales, has written all 75 of her books using a 1946 Olympia manual typewriter. She “pounds out all her novels in a tiny office in her San Francisco home,” and “first drafts are usually done in punishing 20-hour shifts.” Steel loves the work and cares little about fame.
I appreciate technology; it allows me to live in a small town. Still, from a creative standpoint, Danielle Steel reminded me it’s not all about the tools. Rather, it’s the passion, work ethic and storytelling that matter, whether in romance novels or B2B marketing communications.
Neil Sagebiel 
It’s very well known in typewriter collecting circles that Danielle Steel has written and continues to write on an Olympia SG1 that she acquired early in her career. The problem is her dating her own Olympia at 1946. It simply is not possible. Olympia didn’t produce the SG1 until 1953 and sold it for 11 years. Where the “1946” came from?
Thanks, Arthur. I picked up the 1946 date from the Roanoke Times story I cited. Perhaps they got it wrong in their reporting.
Thanks for the note. Danielle Steel has given dozens of interviews (and even on her own blog) mentioning her precious Olympia SG1 as a 1946 model. Someone must have told her that date when she purchased it perhaps because it was the year she waws born she kept repeating that story. Hey, she knocked out 92 books on it, so more power to her.
All best,
Arthur