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Here's what my coaching clients have to say about our work together:

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“When I first started working with Jess, I had a few essay ideas and essays in progress but no concept of the larger themes of my work. Call after call, she helped me find the stories in my everyday experiences, childhood memories, resentments, and obsessions. Most notably she helped me identify the key moments of my life that could be repurposed into scenes to anchor and give structure to my writing. Jess has a gift for illuminating the valuable part of your experience and helping you go deeper, turning what you may have overlooked into good writing.”

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Amanda Miller Littlejohn

Writer (Washington Post, LA Times, and elsewhere) and Messaging, Personal Branding+ Visibility Strategist, @Purposescaping Coach to Executives

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"It is difficult to overstate what a godsend Jess is professionally. Part writing guru, part manager, strategist, and editor, she is in charge of my writing career from start to finish and her intellectual rigor, moral support, and big picture thinking do not falter, even in the face of everyday writer panics and insecurities.

 

As an NYT-published writer, someone who's interviewed everyone from Oprah to Courtney Love and Bill Clinton, and someone who ran a literary festival for seven years, she is impressively knowledgeable of the industry, of people, publications, writers, the politics of writing, and literature in general. She then tailors this absolutely invaluable knowledge gathered over decades to create roadmaps for my very specific goals and ambitions: creating connections with important editors (NYTBR & Paris Review); getting commissioned to review books for prestigious international publications (Astra Magazine); placing long-form essays (Sublunary Eds.), developing my book proposal, and more.

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She is always one step ahead and sessions with her are breakthrough events. Jess is the consummate professional, in my corner unconditionally, and she challenges me to write better, to think bigger and, most importantly, to believe that wins are coming. And with her, they inevitably do."

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Izidora Angel, Translator and Writer

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"As a novice writer in my fifties, I entered into a mentorship relationship with Jess after retiring from a profession in the sciences. Jess has contributed to my growth as a writer by fine tuning details, expanding larger themes, and assimilating different pieces, including multimedia, in her consideration of the overall quality of the work. I have a wide range of writing, inclusive of fiction, non-fiction/essays/criticism, and memoir, and Jess is skilled at providing invaluable advice in all arenas. Her skills as a curator are an extra bonus.

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I strongly recommend Jess for all writers who wish to have a highly-skilled writer who is also a strong listener, and who is willing to center the unique character of that individual writer and the work. Her open-minded approach lends an extra layer of quality to the mentorship experience, allowing her to help the writer/artist assimilate a high-quality, multi-dimensional approach."

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Reem Habboushe, Writer