Sidney Sheldon knew what he was talking about because he lived it.
Dropped out of Northwestern during the Depression. Worked as a checkroom attendant at the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago. Moved to Hollywood at 17 and got hired to read other people's scripts for $22 a week. Sold his first screenplay for $250.
He didn't publish his first novel until age 52. Then every single one of his 18 novels hit the bestseller list. 300 million copies sold in 51 languages. Oscar, Tony, Emmy. Created I Dream of Jeannie. $50 million net worth by the end.
The gap between "reading scripts for $22/week" and "most translated author alive" was 30 years of writing nobody asked him to do.
Poverty wasn't romantic for Sheldon. It was just the part of the story he refused to stay in.
“Being poor is only romantic in books.”
—Sidney Sheldon