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The Word Queen is better known as Keidi Keating, who lives in the Malaga province of Spain. She moved there from London in 2004 and has enjoyed life in the sun ever since.

Keidi trained as a journalist in 1999. After a stint as a local newspaper reporter in the UK, Keidi stepped up the career ladder and became a corporate communications writer for a range of high-profile companies/associations, such as Powergen, Visa, The Dixons Group, McVities and Defra (The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

Six years later, she moved to Spain and started The Sentinella, a magazine aimed at the expat population. The magazine tripled in pagination within just two years, so Keidi launched a business opportunity to help people start their own magazines across the globe.

Keidi’s first book, Sol Searching, A Fun Filled Tale of a Modern Girl’s Move to the Costa del Sol, was published in October 2009. Critics have compared it to Bridget Jones’s Diary. She is now completing her second book, The Path, which is a fiction fantasy with a paranormal twist aimed at young adults.

Keidi set up The Word Queen in 2009 to help fellow writers fulfill their dreams of getting their books written and published. She enjoys her role with a passion and receives a huge amount of positive feedback from her clients.

WOW: Keidi, it is so great to have you with us today. Congratulations on all your writing and editing success. Tell us more about your business, The Word Queen. What manuscript editing services do you offer as The Word Queen?

Keidi: I offer writers an edit of their manuscript, which involves amending grammatical errors and restructuring sentences. The other option is an edit and a full critique, in which I delve deeper into the manuscript to evaluate aspects such as theme, plot, characterization, sense of place, dialogue and all the ingredients of a book, which can transform it into a bestseller.

WOW: How much do you charge for these services?

Keidi: For editing, I charge $200 per 20,000 words. For an edit and critique, I charge $250 per 20,000 words. My payment terms are half up-front and the rest on completion.

WOW: In your opinion, why is it a good idea for a writer to use a professional to edit and critique her work?

Keidi: As writers, we tend to become very attached to our work. It’s not uncommon to procrastinate editing, as we feel a deep sense of unwillingness to delete the words, phrases, metaphors and dialogues to which we have grown to love, even though they may not serve the novel. A professional editor knows exactly what publishers and agents want to see and can mold the story into a desirable shape.

WOW: You are right--it is so hard to edit and critique our own work! What are three or four common mistakes you see in authors' manuscripts?