interviews & new releases
Keidi is the kind of girl we all need as a role model. If she has an idea she just goes for it – makes it happen and then makes a huge success of it. Still under 30, she now lives in Spain, is an internet marketing whizz, an author, authors’ mentor, magazine editor and so much more. You wonder where she finds the time to sunbathe. My guess is that she doesn’t!
So, everyone, meet Keidi Keating, who describes herself more modestly as: ‘I’m a magazine editor, writer, entrepreneur and internet marketer. I live in Spain, on the Costa del Sol, and my passions are writing, traveling, learning and spirituality.’
JP
The concept
Tell me about your book. What is it about? Can you describe it in just a few sentences? To show that a book has focus it is vital that it can be described briefly and succinctly.
KK
Sol Searching describes the journey of my move to the Costa del Sol, aged twenty-three. Along with making friends, finding a job and meeting a man, I faced a number of other personal challenges along the way.
JP
Your motivation
Why did you write it?
KK
I felt that there were many books about moving to Spain written by authors aged forty-plus, but no younger perspectives. With more and more young families moving abroad I felt there was a gap in the market for this genre of book.
JP
The need
Why do you think needed to be written? What will your book do for other people?
KK
Sol Searching helps others who are considering a move abroad to see the ups and downs. It’s not all the bed of roses that people dream it is. Like anything in life, a move abroad needs time and the right measurement of positive energy and focus in order to make it successful.
JP
Who will read it
Who do you think will read your book? What made you think that there was a market for it? Now that it’s been out for a while, what proof do you have that you were right?
KK
I believe my book will be read by anyone who is thinking about moving abroad, not necessarily just to Spain, but to any European country, such as Portugal, France, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, etc…
Thousands of expats move to these countries every year and the forums are saturated with questions. Hopefully Sol Searching delivers the answers in a light-hearted way.
I have received a number of excellent reviews on Amazon and also personal emails thanking me for writing Sol Searching.
JP
The promotion
It does not matter how good a book is, or how good your writing is if no one knows about it. What steps have you taken or do you plan to take to promote your book? Are you a speaker or trainer? Do you have a blog? A website? A newsletter? Do you use Facebook, Twitter or other social media tools? What about press releases and sending out review copies and free articles? Have you had any other ideas? Which methods do you think work best and can you give me any examples?
KK
I am quite fortunate in that I own an expat magazine network in Spain called The Sentinella, so I advertise in all four editions. There’s also a website www.thesentinella.com and a monthly newsletter, which goes out to more than 2,000 expats.
I also have a blog for the book on www.sol-searching.com, which I don’t update as often as I should!
Facebook and Twitter are brilliant tools and many of my followers have purchased Sol Searching – even people who I have never physically met!
JP
The route to market
How did you publish your book? What was your route to publication?
KK
To begin with I self published it via lulu, but then upon chance I met a UK publisher based in Murcia and they offered to publish it for me under their Native Spain imprint. That’s when it began to really take off!
JP
Belief in yourself
Self-belief can be a big problem for writers. How did you manage to stay confident in your ability and remember that you were good enough to write your book? How did you cope with the days when you thought you could not do it and that it was rubbish?
KK
I’ve written stories since the age of five, so I’ve called myself a writer for many years. I didn’t once doubt my abilities. I have always believed I can write and that’s probably why I can.
JP
Meeting the deadline
It’s easy to procrastinate, to blame writers’ block and to put off finishing your project. How did you keep yourself motivated? And how long did it take you to write it? What was your routine?
KK
I already had the ‘bones’ of the book laid out because I wrote a diary account of my move to Spain since the first day I arrived. I just had to put my Editor’s hat on, cut the bits that didn’t do the book justice, and embellish the other bits.
It took about 12 months to finish the project as I had to fit it in around editing and running a magazine.
Motivation has never been an issue for me – once I decide I’m going to do something nothing gets in my way!
JP
The biggest challenge
What was your biggest challenge regarding the writing of your book? How have you overcome that?
KK
My biggest challenge was fitting everything in because so much happened during my first three years living in Spain. My first draft was a ridiculous size so that Editor’s hat had to go back on!
JP
Getting feedback
I believe that getting feedback is really important to help you recognise when your writing is really good and to find ways of making it even better. How did you get feedback on your work?
KK
I have a great friend who is also a writer. She helped me edit Sol Searching to a sensible size and for that I am eternally grateful!
JP
The top tip
If you were to give advice to someone else who is thinking about writing a book based on their life experience what would be your number one tip?
KK
Not everyone will share the excitement you feel for certain parts of your life. Often events that happen to us can seem like the most interesting and funny in the world. But will strangers see them that way? Ask yourself that question constantly as you write your life story.
I’m currently writing my second book. This time it’s a young adult fiction called The Path; one boy’s mission to save Planet Earth from darkness and demonic forces.
