Reviews

• Lori L.

  Deborah was a gentle, intuitive and effective accountability coach for my writing. With her help, i completed a full length novel-memoir manuscript in only three months! I highly recommend her as assistant to your muse in any creative writing project.

  Dec 21, 2015

• Kelley K.

  I was referred to Deborah Drake through a publishing company called Central Recovery Press. After spending 5 minutes on the phone with her, I was hooked. Her positive energy radiated through the phone. I flew to Seattle from Chicago to meet her and we spent 3 intensive days working through my manuscript. We spent hours talking through some of my life experiences in the memoir and she gave the writing wings. We have teamed up together to do a weekly blog and co-author my book. She is beyond talented and inspirational to work with.

  Dec 15, 2015

• Jeff W.

  Deb was my co-author on my first book Message in a Bottle. Co-author is a limited descriptor of Deb's role as she served as a cheerleader, leader, friend, and co-conspirator of my authentic voice. \ Deb has the unique gift of adapting to your style of writing while keeping you accountable to deadlines and personal agendas. Firm but nurturing is often what a new writer needs. Pick me up when I'm down, then give me a kick in the butt to get going. I would not hesitate to call Deb again and I will as my new book is currently being framed in my mind. Work with her. Let her bring your work to life.

  Dec 14, 2015

• Leslie .

  I first met Deborah at a blogging group she both organized and facilitated. She skillfully facilitated the group, as well as supported members with varied needs with both ease and grace. Deborah encouraged, and coaxed this reluctant blogger to engage with writing in a way I had not before. I would recommend her highly, and have plans to engage her support in the future. Thank you Deb!

  Dec 14, 2015

  Authentic Writing Provokes's reply

  Leslie, I know you have been cultivating a book for years and I look forward to seeing the day it is released into the world. Your blogging on the card of the day from your Oracle deck has been a resource for me. To release the wordsmith and storyteller in each person was all I ever wanted to do at our weekly meeting and success, A LOT of writing got done, books got published, and sites got fresh content that reflected the person people might meet. My kind of writing: Authentic and Congruent. :)

• Mike M.

  This is from the acknowledgments portion of my book, The Athlete within You – a mental approach to sports and business. As you will learn, this book has been thirty-two years in development. If not for my good friend and writing coach, Deborah Drake it would still be a half completed pile of paper. Her encouragement and nurturing through the writing process has not only changed my writing, but changed me.

  Sep 4, 2012

  Authentic Writing Provokes's reply

  Your project was especially meaningful for me to be part of. A dusty manuscript that deserved publication 30 years ago it is no more! I look forward to the companion pieces and products you author and publish in the future. Self-publishing ourselves is the way to go and supporting you from start to finish in record time for your conference appearance was a Wild Ride I would do all over again!

• How did you get started doing this type of work?
  My current role as a writing mentor/coach, editor and self-publishing specialist who champions marketing well in advance of publications comes from taking the cumulative twenty years of skills developed through work in journalism, publishing, pre-press/printing, advertising and print production and business development and sales. Writing and self-expression is near and dear to my heart and has been since I was a young girl of nine. I wanted to be in publishing from the beginning. I took a circuitous route but for good reasons in hindsight. I am more than a writer and editor. I love honest, candid, authentic self-promotion and teach it well also. I went solo in late 2007 and took it to full-time and specialized work in spring of 2010 and am grateful to do what I do as my livelihood.
• What types of customers have you worked with?
  Developmental Editing and Manuscript Development with copyediting and proofreading Ghostwriting and blogging and developing a client's Authentic Voice for writing and self-expression (with genuine enthusiasm for it. Creating an Editorial Game Plan for blogging and writing and the marketing of it through classical and guerilla marketing strategies and enthusiasm for being consistent. Developing True Confidence and the Authentic Writing Voice of clients that allows for writing to be done with more ease and efficiency. Project coordination of blog development, self-publishing projects and marketing campaigns.
• What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a provider in your area of work?
  It is critical that there be easy and "Good chemistry" from the start for me. I aim to connect quickly, work efficiently and assimilate the intentions and agenda of my clients swiftly. Relationships take time but the foundation for a good one from the beginning is either present or not. Trying to work together with someone we hesitate to share with is counter-intuitive but we do it more often than we consciously realize. I am candid from the first conversation and diplomatic as well. I appreciate clarity and direction and realize that flexibility is also important to maintain good flow. I consider myself strong at getting attuned to a client quickly and identifying strengths and good ideas clearly. I work fast when we are in the flow.