#gratitude for client appreciation


In the past, I enthusiastically hosted a Weekly Working Writing Community and moderated a Weekly Dialogue to inspire Getting Writing Done. We met in the sweetest space, Friends, Philosophy and Tea, which was in those days affectionately referred to as “The Little Yellow House”.

What continues since that wonderful Teahouse closed, our meetup took a long break, and friendships persisted in other venues?

~Lightly structured, Intuitive, Always Personalized, Coaching and Editorial Support that cultivates Authentic Self-Expression and Self-Publishing confidence.

Leadership, Communication, and Career Coaching
for developing a Vibrant Professional Profile
for the Jobseeker and Solopreneur.

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Deborah, I want you to know I appreciate you being in my life. You and your pushing & shoving & guidance, both within the Blogging Circle & without, has inspired & catalyzed me more than I let on. It as if I’m waking up from a long sleep in which I thought perhaps my writing has withered & died. Well, it is undergoing rebirth, & you helped facilitate some of that. I feel grateful. Thank you.
All the Best, ~ William Dudley Bass

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I met Deborah July of 2010. She invited me to come to her Writers Group for the Reticent Blogger. A few days later I went. I had written papers in school and I currently write children’s books, but blogging was a whole new idea. I wasn’t sure what to expect and I wasn’t expecting to come into an open dialog about writing.

From the first moment in the group you feel safe.  I was very new to blogging and I wasn’t sure what to write about or if anyone would be interested in what I had to say.  This happens to lots of people that join the group.

So in comes the magic that is Deborah. She has this wonderful way of getting you into writing with ease. “I feel an intervention coming on” is one of her ways. She makes it easy for you to express what you need to. With a gentle wink and a nudge you magically go home and write.

I have been coming week after week and the benefits of being in such a creative environment is just amazing. I am no longer reticent and I have been published for my writing. My blog has increasingly gotten more attention and my writing has improved by leaps and bounds.

Deborah is one of the best writing coaches I have ever met. She plants seeds that flourish into amazing flowers of writing. You don’t need to be a part of her group to get the full benefits of her wisdom and grace.

I would most heartily recommend hiring Deborah Drake as your writing muse. She is nothing short of amazing.
Susan Straub-Martin, Strauberry Studios, Author, Illustrator, Artist

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As a Writing and Communications Coach, Deborah has helped me step back and listen to the energy of my clients and what they really want from their business.  How they want it to run and how they feel about what they do.  I am better able to lead them on the journey of starting a business that they love and is profitable.

She has helped my writing style to become clearer, as well as entertaining and open.  I am able to paint a picture of what I want to say without writing a dissertation.     

And my speaking and presentation skills have improved because I appreciate listening more.  I am able to bring my heart and mind together and deliver a clear message that conveys just what I am thinking and want to say for the intended audience.
Gerald Grinter, The Twelfth Power Consulting 

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Coaching with Deborah has made me clearer on the fact that what I have to say is just as important as anyone else (and likewise for everyone else).  Or maybe I do know how – she gracefully critiques and validates.  I like the way you handle the ever growing circle – even as it gets bigger and in some ways harder to handle.  I actually think that I learn as much about facilitating a group like this as I do about writing. I especially like how you can get people out of their stories and bottom-lining things.  Even in doing our introductions I like how I am challenged to think about just exactly what short pithy thing I want to say to let people know who I am – without an elevator speech, etc.  It challenges me to be concise and make what I say count.  In terms of my writing, I have come to believe that there is an audience for what I want to talk about, and eventually they will find me. I feel that I am still trying to find my authentic voice and style, but that I am closer than before I started coming, and that I will get there.

Deborah, you are – caring, authentic, enthusiastic and a good communicator.  Who better than a good communicator to teach someone else how to communicate better? 
Judy Stoffel Loewen, Certified Professional Coach, ACC
~ Singing Heart Coaching

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To give a sense of perspective, I am sixty-five years old, a retired lieutenant colonel in the US Army Reserve, seasoned HR executive with significant work experience on five of the seven continents, self-employed bilingual HR consultant/trainer/facilitator for the last eighteen years, and author of two books and an area study for the Army. When it came to my ability to effectively express myself orally and in writing, I thought I had my stuff together.

Then I met Deborah Drake and for the first time in my life experienced the insightfulness, power and benefit of working with a top-flight committed, observant, articulate and super-intelligent professional editor, writing and communications coach.

Gently, non-judgmentally and non-confrontationally, Deb provided concrete examples, in the moment, that let me see how my written and spoken style was at times aggressive and harsh, and how that diminished my effectiveness to the audiences I wanted to influence.

Thanks to her ongoing coaching and in a very short time, I have noticed a significant change not only in my “voice” as I write blog posts and articles, but more importantly in my self-awareness of my emotional and mental states as I approach the topic,  organize my thoughts, and then write.

Over a year ago, Deborah founded a weekly Writers Circle with six people. Her membership is now over eighty, and growing each week. In these sessions, it is a pleasure to watch Deb deftly facilitate anywhere from ten to twenty-five people, each with their own egos and agendas, so that somehow, week after week, people get whatever they need – support, encouragement, inspiration, a custom homework assignment, a friendly challenge, suggestions, new ideas, a gently firm boot in the butt, technical information, whatever – and they keep coming back for more. It is very gratifying to listen to people who were once reticent writers tell of their articles getting picked up and distributed nationwide.

Deb has been the confidence catalyst of success of many of our members.
Each of us came to the Circle with the skills buried inside;
Deb’s genius is in bringing out the shining best in each of us.
Don Burrows, Acorn Consulting Inc, Career Strategist, Author/Speaker

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