The Process and The Team
Hi Everyone,
As some of you know, from reading my Blogs on a variety of subjects, I’ve reacted with amazement, shock, and outrage when people have asked me in my fan mail, who writes my books. WHO writes my BOOKS??? Are you kidding? Who do you think writes my books, as I hover over my typewriter for weeks at a time, working on a first draft, with unbrushed hair, in an ancient nightgown, with every inch of my body aching after typing 20 or 22 hours a day at a stretch. That’s who writes my books: Me. and in recent years, I’ve discovered from my agent and publisher that it has become common practice for some very well-known successful authors to write the outline for a book, and hand it over to a team of writers to write the book. Holy Sh–!!! How do they do that?? Both the author and the elves. I have a fit when a copy editor fiddles with a word, or moves a comma. I WRITE EVERY WORD of the books myself. And believe me, by the end of the book, I look it, and am pretty beaten up and look like I’ve been through the wars, it’s hard work!!!. But bleeding fingers (for real!), aching hands (I popped a vein in my hand on my last book, which has happened before),screaming muscles, and aching back, I still wouldn’t trade that for anything, and would never just hand off an outline for someone else to write. It wouldn’t be my voice, or my book, if I did. And I simply cannot imagine having someone else write it. For me, the story and the process is like a movie I hear in my head, a vision that I see, like a movie I’m watching as I write, as the ideas and concept flow (from an outline I work on for a year before I write the first draft), and I write what I hear in my head. Whose book would it be if they were writing what they hear in their head? I can’t imagine it. So I definitely write the books myself. 126 books so far. (My acupuncturist wants me to get to 200. I’m trying!!)
But as I sent off a bunch of emails today, to the people most important to me, and my writing life, I realized that I do in fact have a ‘team’. They don’t write the books, but they make it possible for me to do it, and each one is incredibly important to me. Many of them have been in my life for a long time. All are wonderful people, and I thought it might be fun to introduce them to you here, and tell you what they do. I wrote my first book at 19, and have been hard at work at it ever since, and several of these people have made my writing life both possible and easier over the years.
My kids of course, to whom I dedicate the books. Only three of them actually read the books, the others are just happy that I do it. I’ve never talked about my work a lot with them. When they were kids, I never did. I am just their Mom, and I never made an issue of my career when they were younger. They say they didn’t even know I was famous til they went to college, which is exactly the way I wanted it. I talk about my work more with them than I used to, when they were younger, and I think it’s important that they know I love what I do (which is a huge blessing). When they were kids, I wrote when they were asleep, or in school, so I would have free time with them and for them when they were at home. And now that they’re grown up, I write all the time!!! I used to dedicate my books to my husband too, but since I’m not married or in partnership now, I just dedicate the books to the kids. Each book I write is a kind of gift to them, from my heart. And to YOU, my beloved and greatly appreciated readers!!! Without you, there would be no one to read the books!!! So you are a VERY important part of the process and team too.
The man at the top of the pyramid is my agent. His name is Mort Janklow. He is extremely famous and a remarkable person. Without him, I probably wouldn’t have the career I do today. I had another agent previously. Actually one who fired me when I wrote my first book (and no longer admits it), and another agent I had for my early books, in the beginning, before I became well known. Mort represents a long list of extremely famous authors. He’s an attorney, a brilliant businessman, an extraordinary agent, a wonderful person, and beloved friend. He has been my agent for almost 32 years. He has made all the important events in my career happen, and has supported me through every book. He defends me like a lion, calms me down when I get angry, rights injustices, forces me to be reasonable (ugh, but I love him anyway). He is the voice of reason, wisdom, and compassion in my life. I don’t think I would have become famous without him. He has incredibly advanced, brave, and creative ideas about the business end of publishing, and I even discuss the subjects of the books with him, and he gives me excellent comments and advice, on every aspect of my writing life. And when I think of Mort and the many experiences we have shared, what instantly comes to mind is his greatest act of friendship. When my son Nick died at 19, someone in my office called him immediately to tell him. I was in such a state of shock that I don’t remember talking to him myself. I got the news at nine in the morning, noon in New York where Mort lives and works. And by late that afternoon, my doorbell rang, and there was Mort. He must have gone straight from his office, had someone pack him a bag (his wonderful wife), and caught the next plane to San Francisco. He said he was there to do anything he could to help, and that’s what he did. He was there to help with my 8 kids, who were also in a state of shock, keep us company, shepherd the kids, talk to friends, answer phones, and even deal with my mother. It was an act of love and friendship I will never, ever forget, and he is very dear to my heart, and super, super, super important to my books. The sale of any book starts with him, and even the earliest conception of the book.
The other most important person in my writing life is my editor, Carole Baron. Editing is a separate skill from writing, and it is a gift. Very few people still edit today, it’s often done by amateurs, or people who think they know what they’re doing, and they don’t. (I could not edit a book, but I can write one). Writing without a good editor is like dressing in the dark—–you come out looking a mess, and so does the book. Carole has been editing my books for almost 32 years. She is a genius. Our work together is like a dance, sometimes like tennis or ping pong, and sometimes like ballet, with incredible harmony of thought. Or she makes a suggestion I don’t like but it inspires me to think of something else, and I bat it back to her, and we go back and forth, for hours at times. When I get an idea for a book, I call Carole, sometimes before the idea is even formed. “I have an idea for a book” I announce victoriously on the phone. And Carole is all ears and wants to know what it’s about. “It’s about a woman!”, and then I pause, and that’s all I’ve got….while Carole waits…..”uh….well…actually….I don’t have the rest of it worked out yet….” Great. “Call me back,” Carole says, and I do, many times, as I work out the story in my head, and we discuss it, as I fill in the holes, and then I write an outline, and she criticizes it, or makes suggestions, which I do or don’t like. And then finally, many months or even a year later (after thinking about it a lot), I write the first draft. And that’s where her skill comes in, and I have to brace myself and try to be brave about it. She sends me encouraging comments about what she does like, and then she sends the manuscript back to me, with comments on every page, whole sections torn apart or rejected, things she wants changed (it’s up to me how I change them, but she is like the teacher giving me the grade, and I rarely get above a C+ on the first round, and sometimes even a D-, and it’s up to me how I get my grade up.) I must say Shit a thousand times while I read her comments, and along with the notes on the manuscript (which is a mess by now, thanks to both of us), I get about a 50 page letter of corrections, AND an ‘editing letter’, with everything that’s wrong with the book. If you think I just whip the stories out and the publisher prints them, think again!!! And when you first read those comments, you want to go to bed and forget it, or give up writing, or maybe burn the book. But then I start thinking about what she said, and I realize she’s right, that Chapter 3 moves too slowly, or chapter 7 is too fast, or a whole section of the book sounds flat, or we really don’t know who the hero is yet and we need to know more. She makes me think and sweat and struggle and go back to the book again, tear it all apart and make it better. You have to be willing to forget your ego, take harsh criticism, and have an open mind that maybe what you wrote is not perfect and you can do it better. She makes me WANT to make the books better. And the re-writes I do are MUCH harder than writing the original book. And sometimes I have to do that to a book 4 or 5 times (wanting to rip my hair out every time!!). But every single time I do it, I feel like I climbed Everest when it’s over, and I realize she was right, and the book is so much better after I re-write it, again and again and again, to get it right. It is a brutal process, and she is merciless in her pushing me to write the best possible book I can. Mort makes the best book deals possible and gives me the best overall advice, but Carole helps me write the best possible books I can. She stretches me to my limits and beyond. She is like a marathon trainer who pushes you until you think you’ll drop, and then pushes you some more, but the results are fantastic!!! The books are better because of her every time, and it’s worth the agony to get there!!! When you love one of my books, it’s because Carole beat me up until I got it right. And she is also a beloved friend after all these years. When Mort got on the plane in NY the day Nick died, Carole came with him, and manned the kids and the kitchen for a week along with him. One doesn’t have many friends like that in a lifetime. And I am so grateful to both of them.
The research and my researcher. As you know, I write both historical and contemporary novels. In historical novels, you need to carefully research wars, historical periods, the way a city looked at the time, maybe 100 years ago, and all the details of the historical era you’re writing about, or the event, or war, or whatever. In a ‘modern’ book, you need to know the city you are writing about, or the industry, or the situation, or the laws, or where the court house is, or what the Grand Jury rules are, or the best restaurants or hotels, or how long it takes to drive from Biloxi, Mississippi to Atlanta on which freeway (to give it reality), or what the local industry is, or the laws of the state are, whatever the book happens to be about. Or even the details of an illness, and the medications given for it, or how long a surgery takes, or how many people were at a certain concert, or the number of casualties in an actual plane crash. All the details you read in my books that relate to real life are real and carefully researched. Sometimes my researcher will go to a place if I haven’t been there, just to get the feel of it. And I even need to know what you see when you look out the window of a certain hotel, what does the city sound like, and smell like. How noisy is it? What do you hear? Crickets or bulldozers or fire engines? Nancy Eisenbarth is my researcher and is amazing. She is a historian by education, and she has done the research on my books since the very beginning, and I drive her insane, calling her at 3 am, or sending her emails, needing to know what floor something is on, how many people died in a famous fire, what is the decor of a certain restaurant, or a detail about a unit of the French Resistance in WW2. Nancy knows exactly what I need from ancient history to the present, and combs libraries, diaries, memoirs, history books, the Internet, to give me what I need. Like Carole, mercilessly demanding as close to perfection as I can get, Nancy will tell me that my idea just won’t work, because there was no train in that part of Nepal at that time….or the hotel I want to use was actually built 2 years later, or the surgery I want to use can’t be performed at that hospital in that year, She is the voice of reality, always calling me to order. And I only once cheated and wrote about a train that didn’t exist. But I try to keep the details in my book as real as I can, and Nancy keeps me on the straight and narrow and gives me absolutely fantastic information!! Once I have an idea for a book, I send her the outline so she’ll have an idea of what I’ll need when I write the book, and she starts sending me material for me to read and look over, about geographical areas (Ethiopia, Libya, Italy, the south of France, Arkansas, New York), historical people I may want to include in the book, or industries, locations, and world events. She sends me a huge amount of stuff, which I then whittle down and decide what I want to use. And then once I’ve written the book, I send her a list of precise questions (sometimes 100 of them) to verify that I have my facts right, or add further information (what street is such and such on? the name of a pizza parlor, or a Chinese restaurant). She too is a wonderful person, and a dear friend, we are the same age, and have worked together since our late teens, early twenties, and our earliest common bond is that we discovered we were in love with the same boy at 13 !!! He was a lot cuter then than he turned out to be later! I met her through her older brother who is also a writer. Nancy has been a great gift in my life too. And without her I wouldn’t have all those great details and facts that give reality to the books (one of our best ones was “Zoya”, about the Russian Revolution, which we loved doing. I even knew what perfumes the grand Duchesses wore, and what their handwriting looked like). Each person makes a valuable contribution to the books. Even if the story is entirely mine, and all the hard work, they help me to get the best result I can in the end. And they all work hard to, on their specific contributions.
The Clean Up. After the work is done, I’ve written the book, and Carole has made me re-write it 6 times, and Nancy has given me all the factual details I need, by then the typewritten manuscript is a total mess. There are notes in all the margins, asterisks everywhere, things crossed out, coffee stains from Carole, chocolate smudges from my late nights with the book in my hand and a chocolate bar in my mouth, you sometimes have to turn a page 360 degrees just to read 4 different sets of notes, and my little hand written squiggles run right off the page…by then, no one can read it except me and Carole, it is almost totally illegible. And then it goes to Judythe Cohen in Mort’s office, and she types it into a clean version we can send to the publisher. She puts her heart and soul into it, and the best part is that she sends me running comments on it, about what she loved best, the characters or events that really moved her. She is the first person to read it who was not in on it from the beginning, and my first test of how the book sounds to someone else. She is incredibly generous with her praise, and she reassures me that we got it right. And the manuscript looks gorgeous, and is legible when she’s done!!
The Publisher. AFTER all the writing and editing and research and typing, Mort sends the finished book to the Publisher. I always hold my breath when I send the manuscript to Carole, my editor, terrified she’ll tell me I blew it entirely, and just throw the book away (she never has, but it’s always my worst fear). Then I have to go through that process again and now it’s For Real. What if the publisher hates the book, and she doesn’t like the way it turned out? What if all the hard work that went into it doesn’t capture her heart or imagination? I am always terrified when I send it in. I had one publisher for my first book, and a different one for all the books since. I have been with the same publishing house for 36 years now, so the ‘house’ is the same, but the person/the publisher has changed several times over the years. My current publisher is a wonderful woman, Jennifer Hershey, who believes in my books, is very supportive, and likes what I write. So she reads it, approves it, and I heave a sigh of relief. We did it!!! And after that, together we decide on a cover for the book, how it should look, the ads, and all the publishing details of the book. It is very exciting working with her, and very gratifying to work with someone who really cares about my work.
The Home Team. So those are all the people involved in the writing and business end of the books—-but then there are the people who make it possible for me to get the time and peace to do it. I have two incredibly wonderful assistants. Heather has worked with me for 22 years, and Allee for 11. Both started working with me when they were in their very early 20’s, barely more than kids. And they handle everything for me (other than writing), and shield me from the ‘real world’, while I hole up in my nightgown with my typewriter to write the books. It would be hard to get the peace and quiet I need without them fending off phone calls, pesty people, minor and major crises, and even friends, since I don’t talk to anyone except my kids when I’m writing. The newest member of the Home Team is Alex my Paris assistant, who goes to San Francisco with me too. He has added a new element to my writing life: food. I have terrible eating habits, and in my early days for some reason lived on a writing diet of liverwurst and Oreo Cookies, which became the subject of many jokes. I don’t take the time to stop and cook, or even eat, and I don’t want to stop and eat anything complicated while I work. All I think about is the book, and I’ll eat whatever is placed near me, without even noticing what it is. Finger food works best, and now thanks to Alex, trays appear next to me, with little bits of chicken, mozzarella, and even blueberries, and wonderful cappuccino. He’s Italian, and was horrified by some of what I would eat when I worked, or the fact that sometimes I didn’t bother to eat at all. If no one fed me, I just went without. So now I eat some great nibbly stuff while I work, which has added a new element to my writing life. And then of course there is always my unlimited supply of dark chocolate in my desk, without which I could not survive, at my desk, or anywhere!!! These three people are who and what make my life work, when I’m writing and when I’m not. They fend off press, protect me from paparazzi, talk to lawyers, bankers, plumbers, and handle my business life when I check out to write. They take wonderful care of me and are beloved friends as well. They make my life possible, and keep everything on track while I’m off in the land of my imagination, writing a book.
There is one more important person on the team that makes my work and life possible, and she too is a beloved friend. Virginia Harris, who is a minister and religious person, and writing a book or undertaking any major challenge really is like climbing Everest in some ways. It is physically and mentally grueling, and you have to be prepared and willing to face all the challenges that go with it, which can be daunting, intimidating and just plain scary at times. Most of us are like David in the ‘David and Goliath’ of life, and we feel small in front of life’s challenges. I feel like David a lot of the time, especially when faced with a box of blank paper and a book to write. Can I do it again? Will it be any good? Is the story tight enough? What if I can’t? I always ask Ginny to pray for me when I am working on a book, or facing any major challenge. Her clear thought, endless support, and loving prayers give me the strength I need to keep going and have the faith that I can do it, no matter how hard or scary it gets. And I am so grateful for her friendship, love, prayers and unfailing support.
There are a number of other people who help carry the book to completion once I finish my work—-who sell the book to foreign publishers, design the marketing plan, and are the network of people around the book. But the people I have described to you are the inner circle, who sustain me, and make my work and life happy and worthwhile, and even possible at times, and have become my most beloved friends.
So that’s the whole team that helps make it all work. They don’t write the books, but without them I’d be lost. They are the very important people in my life, the elves in my life, while I do the work. I may get the glory, but they are “The Wind Beneath My Wings”. My thanks and love to them, and to you for reading the books!!!
Love, Danielle
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Dear Danielle, thank you very much for this. I enjoy all your books very much. I’ve been reading them for many years now. But you never realise all the hard work there’s behind every story. Thank you very much!
Fascinating–very educational. I certainly enjoyed reading this.
I have been reading your books for about 5 years(I am only 26 years old) and I have read about 75% of your books. They are all amazing and there are about 4 of them that are close to my heart and one of them you mentioned…Zoya. I just finished Friends Forever and that book just blew my mind. It was one of those books that entices you and don’t realize how far long you are until your on the last page.
But now its my turn to thank you Danielle (and your team) for all your hard work you put into one book. You imagination is a gift from God that allows me to live lives I would never think of and travel the world i will never visit. Thank you. I get to live a hundred of different lives because of your talent and I am greatful of that.
All the best to you in the future and from one of your biggest fans,
Mindy K.
Toronto, Canada
I love when you tell about the process of your writing.
I think more people know you write your own books and the few who question it are not worth the frustration. It would be like replacing a heart surgeon with an auto mechanic,it would change the outcome! When I googled you {not knowing you were famous} I was shocked at your many accomplishments. Like the hard working people you have working with you are surely proud, don’t worry be proud! What should be asked is why a typewriter when there are computers? Answer, because that’s were the magic happens!!!!!And that the way I like writing, so there!Match this![126 books]
P.S. Have you broken records for writing that many books?
How many hours do you think 126 books took to write?
🙂
great Blog Danielle….very informative…as are many of your books. How could anyone even
think that someone else writes your books..
there are only a few I have not read, 2 new ones, and a couple older ones. I collect and keep all of them, love looking for them inAntique shops or Flea markets…still have not ever seen,the Childrens books and the Poem books, anywhere…still looking for…Going Home, Once in a Lifetime, second chance, and I will get them eventually.
Thanks for all your great stories, and blogs.
Carol O. in So. Calif.
I have been reading your books since I was a teenager and I have loved all the books you’ve written the very first book I read was Changes which I really enjoyed then I think I read Wanderlust which means so much to me because I loved the story and the characters in that story you take us to places and events we would never go to I loved your discription of the train trek Audrey and Charlie take to China I came to really care about the characters. My 2nd favourite book is Family Album again I came to care about the characters in that book my favourite character in that book is Lionel he was such a strong and caring character.
I have always loved your books you have made me laugh and cry made me cheer when they triumph. Thank you Danielle for all your hard work and the fantastic stories you have written over the years.
Love,
Theresa
Dear Danielle!
I´m so glad I fond your homepage and this blog. Really nice to read about you, your life and your fantastic kids!
I have ALL your books and I´ve read them over and over again. I´ve just finished the 4:th round! Some of them begins to look very shabby 😀
I love reading and my favourites are you, Michael Connelly, Jeffrey Archer, Leon Uris and several of our Swedish writers wich are really GOOD!
I wish you and your family a lovely holiday…and keep writing 😉
Greetings från Sweden and
/GITT
I have been a huge fan of your work for many years! I can’t believe someone would even suggest you don’t write your own books! My favorites are Message from Nam and The Gift. I have always enjoyed your books and always excited to find out when a new book is coming out. All the hard work of your writing and your team truly comes through in each of your books.
WOW!!! I see why your books are so real. The time and dedication to facts and corrections makes a huge difference than what other writers do. Sounds like a grueling routine and process but obviously it works.
I think it was really great of you to take the time to explain this detailed process to us, Danielle. Thank you. It sort of surprises me that only 3 of your children read your books!!
Looking forward to reading the next one!!
Danielle,
I was reading this post and thinking about authors who choose to hire a team of writers to do the work. What really surprises me about it is why would someone who is supposed to love writing, truly love it, would want to give this pleasure away to other people? When I write it’s like nothing else in the world. It’s better then the best meal, better than the most expensive dress or the most luxurious trip. It’s a Gift that God gives you and although it is hard work, it is the best things in the world that a REAL author would want to do himself. The whole point of living and breathing for a true writer is to write. Not money, not fame or whatever else…
I feel like (and I’m not judging those men and women) by giving that Gift away, those authors betray themselves and give away something very important. Nothing will convince me that the millions money they make that way make them happy.
Danielle
Thank you so much for your eye opening details regarding all the processes involved in book writing. I had no idea that so much hard work and sweat is involved. I sincerely thought, with your experience, writing a new novel is now a piece of cake, that you just sit in front of your typewriter for a few weeks and send it to your publisher, talk about ignorance in the highest degree. But now I understand why I love and enjoy your books so much, it’s because you love your work so much too. I started reading your books in 1979 and have been hooked ever since. I have a collection of them and have read many of them a thousand times each. You will never know how much your books have meant to me over the past thirty years. I have learnt so much. tell your children they don’t know what they’re missing by not reading your books.
Thina. South Africa.
best sad love quotes
Thank you for this. I too have been reading your books since 1979. I have not read all of them but many. Some favs are Family Album, No Greater Love, Granny Dan, Matters of the Heart, Toxic Bachelors. Oh I could go on. In school, History was not a strong subject for me as it did not interest me. You have made History interesting to me. It is nice to be in a group of professional people and be able to contribute to a conversation KNOWING full well that my facts are accurate! (Thank you!) They have no idea that I ONLY know this from reading one of your books! Living in the East Bay, I know many points of interest that you reference in your books. I am so excited to read The Gift of Hope. Three yrs ago I held a sock drive at work. If they brought in a pr of new, (preferably dark colored) socks, they got a raffle ticket. A pkg was worth six raffle tickets. By the end of the month I had SO MANY socks that I, with the help of my strong son & his friends went to SF and gave them away to homeless men & women. Yes, they were gone in no time and I know exactly what you mean in the statement, ‘I felt so small. What I did was like emptying the ocean with a thimble’ I also have a friend, Heather whose son also suffered from bipolar and ended his life. I gave her my copy of His Bright Light. She wrote you and you wrote her back! (Thank you!) I hadn’t seen her smile in months, but I saw it that day! I can go on. Thank you for writing the books that you, and only you write. You are a gift to us, your readers. Life, and growing up would not be the same without having you in it. Oh, and GOGIANTS!
Thanks for sharing this information. the team works so hard and your books are perfection.
You and the team are perfectionist. truly inspiring !
I’m so glad that you seem to always have a new book coming out, and always just before I’m ready to take a trip or just a mental break. Keep spitting up these books because they always take me to a happy place. And keep eating chocolate because it’s great and you deserve it! I always wondered about your life so thank you for that insight you shared about yourself.
I love ❤️ your novels, and my sister and I read them back to back. Everyone of my friends and family give me your novels for different occasions. I have 80 so far. I also have the book of poems, (because I’m a poem nut). I had my neighbor build me a book shelf, just for your books alone. “His Bright Light” was so very special to me. I lived with someone over 30 yrs with Bi Polar/Cemical Embalance Disorder. We are separated but I’m still assisting him weekly with things. It is a very heart breaking disorder. My children buy me your new ones, but everyone else get gets me like new, used ones. Thank you again for you novels, and I pray 🙏 you continue to write as long as possible. I know I’ll never catch up to you, but that’s ok. Love ❤️ Pat Carter
I know this sounds outrageous however my sisters, my mom, and now daughter and my nieces read all your books. And now in 2020 I listen on audio. With all the time I spent with you and your novels, I am not a writer but I think you could make my life story into a great novel. You might hear this a lot however this is my first attempt. I wish I could write it myself, but if you give me a chance, it could be a great book. I am not looking for fame, I just think getting my story out could help me with my acceptance. A lot of your books remind of my own life. If I don’t hear back then I understand that you or the people that work for You did not read this. I am 61 now and need to share my story that could possibly help others. Thanks, hope for a responds. Sincerely, Nancy from Ohio and Michigan
My favorite author. I have read EVERY book. I have the book release dates on my calendar and get excited to purchase the next book. Danielle’s books are the only ones that I purchase in hard-bound. I have the entire collection. I remove the paper cover and wrap the book in a towel to protect it while I enjoy reading every word. I know – a little crazy! Once when I had surgery, my daughter even prepared the book with my special towel.
Love Danielle’s books, e-mails, etc.!
[…] The topic of Steel’s non-stop work ethic has even led to her readers questioning whether the author employs ghostwriters to help with her incredble output. Steel addressed these questions in a blog post about her process and team: […]
Danielle Steel,
My second response to one of your communications.
The above article about writing is quite well done. I have been writing for over 50 years with over 500 manuscripts of books and short stories completed. Most are NOT published because rewrites and editing take so long. I would rather have acid poured over my skin than work at editing. Writing is the EASY part but rewrites and editing for me take months and sometimes years. I have books I have been editing slowly for over 20 years.
You say most writers do not edit any more. With self publishing, I believe that to be true. Yes, you state it well: “Very few people still edit today, it’s often done by amateurs, or people who think they know what they’re doing, and they don’t. (I could not edit a book, but I can write one). Writing without a good editor is like dressing in the dark—–you come out looking a mess, and so does the book.”
After my rewrites, I pay two different editors to go over the book or short stories. I have a technical editor and a line editor. I sit down with the second editor after corrections are made and read the story out loud, looking for repeated words, how the story flows, and for any and all needed corrections. This is a tiring and cumbersome process and sometimes we do up to 25 oral readings on a manuscript.
You of course, should be congratulated on your 125 books and your repeated professionalism and desire to produce the best work possible.
You have so many accolades and readers and you probably won’t even see this, but I have read several of your books and enjoyed every one of them.
All the very best to you.
Charlie Steel
Dear Danielle,
I have been reading your books for over thirty years. They have seen me through more surgeries than I can count and endless months of recovery. They have been with me through some of the biggest challenges of my life, as well as some of the most wonderful. I love your style of writing and the history you so often weave into your stories is wonderful. One of my favorites is ZOYA. I still have many to read I look forward to each one. Your article regarding your process was fascinating. Please keep going, each one is better than the last. Kudos to you.
I’ve been reading your books for over 35 years. I enjoy them tremendously. Thank you for the enlightening information about your writing journey.
My favorites are Blue, Pegasus, & many more.
Thank You,
Gloria S. Graham
Danielle, I loved reading your writing process. I have written two novels and published them myself. Someone recommended that I read your books. I never have read your books but last week I bought 3 of them. I start reading “Zoya” today. Thank you for sharing and for setting a good example of writing commitment.
Well done great comment keep on doing what you do best 👌 great author absolutely love ❤ your stories great job 👍 lots of time ⏲ I feel at peace each time I read your books and can’t wait for the next one thankyou Danielle Love Wendy Burnie Tasmania 7320
Danielle Steel is my fave author eversince i started reading her novels 25yrs ago. “The Ring” is the very first book of her that i’ve read and it really thrilled me and made me shade tears from the bigenning ’till the end.
[…] The topic of Steel’s non-stop work ethic has even led to her readers questioning whether the author employs ghostwriters to help with her incredble output. Steel addressed these questions in a blog post about her process and team: […]
Dear Danielle,
That was wonderful to read. You and all your magical books are all that much more special for me.
With love and admifation
Jeanne van Zyl
I need your help Danielle to find a literature agent adult non-fiction asap? 😊
I don’t read your books, but I love reading about the writing process and this was a genuine joy to read. I especially enjoyed that gothic imagery of you in an old, antiquated gown, clattering away on a typewriter in a large, hollow room with thick rugs, dark but for a fire and a lamp, assistants turning away callers at the front door and foyer. I looked you up specifically, out of curiosity. Chris.
Ms. Steel, you have been my favorite author since I read The Promise in high school. Now I am 63 years old and have read all of your books. This was interesting to read and dispels awful rumors about a ghost writer. I’m sorry that those rumors exist. Thank you for what you do! I enjoy your hard work immensely. Thank you for the team who make it possible as well. Sincerely, Christine Johnson
After reading this I wondered, have you ever written a book about writing a book? I was very interested in your description of the writing process with the disheveled hair and old nightgown, the bleeding fingers. Things people don’t think about. I would love to read something like that. The Novel, by Danielle Steel.
Thank you for your honesty. I am still amazed you can be as prolific as you are even with such a wonderful team supporting you. I have loved each and every one of your novels, they are an ultimate escape.
Hi Danielle,
I have been reading your books for many, many years and always find them to be therapeutic.
Thank you for providing peace of mind. I just finished, “Worthy Opponents.” Delightful book but I want to share some feedback.
On page 164 you talk about Maureen’s relationship with Mike and how she has “painted him black” for many years. That terminology is at a minimum offensive, and can be interpreted as racist.I’m sure that was not your intent but you might want to consider having your staff review from that lens before novels are released.
Thank you for the many years of enjoyment I have experienced.
I haven’t read your books in many years, but was recently gifted The Whittiers. The plot is engaging enough but the writing is often repetitive. It is really annoying when you say the same thing on the same page, or even in the same paragraph. That led me to wonder if you really write all of your books. Since you do, you should go for more quality and less quantity.
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Dear Danielle ,God gave you enormous talent and I’m so glad you followed your calling.
It’s clear your have a burning passion within your mind and soul that drives you to the brink of exhaustion, nevertheless, you endure and continue breathing life into characters that your readers connect to on so many different levels.
While some characters are forgotten, there are so many characters who remain in the recesses of our minds, long after we have read the book, reminding us to put the past behind us, be willing to open up our hearts to love, passion and most of all forgiveness. This is a wondrous gift that you give your readers.
Thank you for your inspiring dedication to your writing.
I’m a Latina Board Certified Invasive Cardiologist in California and an assistant professor at UCLA school of medicine. I just read about the support you have had in your successful career. I had very little support and came from a poor family. Given all of that after spending 14 years of my life at UCLA, no one wood imagine I read your books . In the eyes of many they are “beneath” me. I was given a manuscript to read “Beyond Biology, Reality, and Illusion” . It’s about Quantum Physics. It’s 360 pages. I have read 30 and don’t understand a thing. Your books bring me joy and entertainment why are they beneath me . I’m a simple person . I would love a comment from you!!!
Hi Danielle,
I loved reading every one of your books. I have all of them in hard cover in a glass door wooden cabinet placed in the order that you wrote them. I am in the process of reading The Wedding Planner. I can’t wait for the next one. Once I start one of your books, it is difficult to put it down. I have been reading them consistantly for 50 years. Thank You so much.
Gail Calgary, Canada.
Ms Steel I am 87yr old man after reading what seemed to me was your bio hmm is wow I can tell you that you are magical to me I am alone and take care of myself cook clean shop do my own wash and smile I don’t watch TV I listen to oldies and with delight read your novels I have an almost none ending supply I think I have every book you wrote not….thank you for being you with all do respect you can’t love the books and not love the writer so have a long life and b safe respectfully Robert w.Parlamento SR.
Ms. Steel,
What a wonderful primer for aspiring writers! Thank you.
As to the loss of your beautiful son, Nick Traina, please listen to my interview on youtube. Something wonderful happens after life.
The Afterlife Book: because you never got a chance to say goodbye talks about all this.
I think the book is helping a lot of folks.
The YouTube linkto the interview is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYKsNmjays8&t=641s
You may note I’m no kid: which means I could, and have, read every book you’ve written.
God bless you.
Jeannie Reed
Dear Danielle, I don’t know why I am sending this, it will not reach You and I know that, but I keep trying, for it is a story in me that does not want to die. All players are real but something that probably never happened but could have. Just let me say, it would be about H W Longfellow and a Lady named Susan Chase born in Chester N H. In 1787,Nov 22.It would be fiction of course, but based on truth. I believe it could touch the very soul of all who can still dream and find that to be enough. I have her little bible book today. Printed in Boston in 1806. Would love to just talk to You. Ever Mike F
Do all of your books have individual stories or does ones books story lead to another like a series? I am just now get into your books and would like to know! Thank you for your time Kay
How do you exercise during a rigorous writing schedule?
If ever I’m browsing the library and can’t find a good read, I go to the S’s and find a new one by Danielle!! Most of her stories take place out side my level of living and I know I’ll never travel abroad or live in an exquisite home so these novels take me there! I honestly can’t imagine how Danielle keeps coming up with new ideas for her books but I love that she does! Having her team close and closer has to be comforting as well as idea inspiring! Keep writing! We all love your work!
Hi. I work cataloging the new books for our library (Best Small Library in America, 2018), and am always shocked at how quickly a new book by you comes across my desk, so I was delighted by your explanation of your process and team. Thanks for enlightening all of us.
Laurel
Dearest Danielle,
I absolutely love this letter of praise and appreciation you have written! Thank you for sharing with us, all of these very important friends that you have, the people who are the wind beneath your wings! Awesome! I have every one of your stand alone novels. I just received Never Too Late, I think you are amazing! I started reading them my sophomore year in high school, and I’ve never even thought that some person, other than yourself, was writing under the name Danielle Steele! I do not think that there is anyone who could make me feel, after reading a novel, the way that you do! I will be a forever fan of that brilliant mind and that beautiful heart! Thank you! Forever, Teresa
I’m so glad I read this someone told me this I I just couldn’t believe it ! I’ve read and have 120 books of yours ! Thank you
LOVE LOVE your boks, so glad to red that you write them yourself!!!!
Wonderful you have a great working team as well!!!!
Keep writing-love the stories:)
Hi Dannille I have read your books for many years starting as a teenager I’m now 47 and I just tried reading in my father’s footsteps in paper back great book. But. My pages in my book came apart I manage to get through the book. I just wanted to say that I had been a fan of yours for a long time your boos seem so real.
I have loved your books since I was a teenager. I am 58 now. I think the first book I read was Palomino. So, I have read every word you have labored over and thank you for them all. I have decided to write about my family, a Michener-esque undertaking spanning 3 continents with lots of history and interpersonal drama. Even today, it will piss some people in my family off. It will center around my Abuelita, a woman who I only met once – but wrote to every month under duress of my Mama while my Abuelita lived in Buenos Aires and I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area – and her journey from a one-night stand with a boy fron the “right side of the tracks” into a marriage she wanted but my grandfather didn’t. From Stanford University, to Camogli Italy, to Los Altos Hills in the ’30’s to Buenos Aires, Argentina. I feel like I need a researcher, too! Thank you for the inspiration.
Not sure if this site is still active but here goes :-
Not sure if you ever visit England (specifically the North), but in April 2025 my mother will be 90! She reads all your books (I buy them) avidly and then passes them on to friends. She is a HUGE fan and often waxes lyrical to me about from where you get your ideas.
An appearance is obviously out of the question but would you please consider sending her a personal email. She lost my dad a month before their 60th wedding anniversary so never got THE card. Second best I know! (Second Best a great title for your next one hehe).