How My Book of Essays Became a Memoir of My Journey of Self-Discovery on Ireland’s Backroads

by Diane Hartman

When I began my memoir, Getting Lost On My Way: Self-Discovery on Ireland’s Backroads, many years ago, I envisioned it as being a book of essays weaved together by a common thread –my four solo trips to Ireland over a period of seven years.  I kept a journal during my travels and adapted those entries into essays detailing my humorous and poignant adventures driving Ireland’s backroads. I workshopped those essays in classes at the Indiana Writers Center and at Anam Cara Retreat for Writers in Ireland’s Beara Peninsula. At Anam Cara I was told by another retreatant, “You tell a wonderful story.”

Some writers are on one side of the fence trying to describe what’s on the other side. You, girl, have already climbed over that fence.” Sue Booth-Forbes, the director and “literary midwife” at Anam Cara confirmed, “You have a strong voice and a natural way of telling a story.”

Having doubted myself and my ability as a writer for so long, these affirmations were like coming home to a warm house on a cold day.

I continued to write and perfect those essays for several years as I proceeded with my career as an elementary school librarian while being a single parent to two beautiful, but stubborn, teenage daughters. All of that left me exhausted with little energy to write, but I persevered until my retirement allowed me the time to get serious about finishing and publishing my book.

A few years after my retirement I signed up for what became one of three workshops in Montana, and it changed my life as well as the trajectory of my book. After reading an excerpt I had submitted to Laura Munson, writer extraordinaire and founder of Haven Writing Retreats, she sat me down the first day of the retreat and said, “Diane, this is not a book of essays. It’s a memoir. You need to dig deep, deeper than you probably want to go, and rewrite it as a memoir.”

I did just that and went back the following summer for Haven II, a small-group, multi-day intensive workshop where, with Laura’s expert guidance, we critiqued each other’s work. We became a cohesive community of friends, and we have continued to meet monthly via Zoom to workshop our writing and, more importantly, to encourage each other on our writing journeys. I can’t emphasize enough the importance of having this type of community to further one’s writing. We’ve talked each other through our bouts with doubt and writer’s block and celebrated our successes. What a gift!

At that time, Laura became my editor and we corresponded until I returned the following summer to go over my complete manuscript one-on-one. By now she had become a great friend as well as an outstanding editor. We hashed out what did and didn’t work with her encouraging me to “dig even deeper,” and I went home with a revised manuscript in hand which I continued to modify.

My intention was to get an agent and have my memoir published by a small press or maybe even get my book published without an agent. I did a lot of research and conferred with several of my writer friends, but watching two of them in particular, one an established published author and the other a first-time author but with a huge online presence through her popular blog, get rejected by publisher after publisher despite having one of the best agents in the business,

I decided to look into hybrid publishers just as they had done. With hybrid publishing, the author pays a fee in the ten-thousand-dollar range, but with it comes the advantages not often found with traditional publishers such as collaborating with your project manager about the edits, cover design, title, proofreading, and amount of print runs. In addition, I knew that having a hybrid publisher would ensure that my book would be published in a timely manner as opposed to shopping my book to traditional publishers for years, often to no avail. Being over seventy, I didn’t have years to wait. 

I found that She Writes Press was the best fit for my memoir. Brooke Warner, its founder and publisher, has an unequalled reputation as an honest, ethical professional in an industry that often isn’t. She Writes Press only accepts approximately twenty percent of manuscripts submitted to them so I was ecstatic when mine received their “green light.” Another huge plus is that She Writes Press books are distributed by Simon and Schuster, meaning I would not have to perform the thankless task as self-published authors do of having to distribute the book myself. Also, having a traditional publisher with an outstanding reputation such as Simon and Schuster distribute my book will guarantee that it will reach a much larger audience. She Writes Press also provides the added benefit of participating in a cohort author group that is both informative and affirming.

Hybrid publishers do not handle publicity so there is the extra cost of hiring a publicist if you choose to, which can run anywhere from five thousand to thirty-five thousand dollars depending on how much you want to put yourself out there. I will say, however, that She Writes Press offers a list of publicists with outstanding reputations making the process of choosing one much easier.

Being a first-time author without any publicity experience, I chose a publicist who could launch my book into the world at a price within my budget. The jury is still out, but so far my publicist has a comprehensive plan and already has been successful in reaching out to several various outlets. Time will tell if it’s worth the extra money, but I’m encouraged by several authors who have sung this publicist’s praises.

Despite having a publisher and publicist, writing and publishing my first book has been more of a learning experience than I ever imagined. Learning the ins and outs of website design and of various social media platforms, just to name a few, has been overwhelming at times. I rely on my writing and cohort groups to guide me out of my exasperation. 

I’m so excited to have my lifetime dream of publishing a book fulfilled. It is a book that I was compelled to write for my own self-understanding but, more importantly, to encourage others to go after their own dreams regardless of life’s circumstances. It continues to be a journey filled with many twists and turns, much like the roads in Ireland itself. 

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Diane Hartman: Diane Hartman is a retired school librarian, photographer, dog rescuer, mother, grandmother, and lover of Ireland. She has received honors for her writing from Midwest Writers Workshop, Daisy Pettles Women’s Writing Award, and the Griffith Writing Fellowship at the Mary Anderson Center. Her photography has garnered several awards, including the Indiana Governor’s Award. She is an alumnus of Laura Munson’s Haven Writing Workshops and Retreats, and this is her first book. Diane lives in Indianapolis with her rescued corgi, Winston. Find out more about her at dianehartmanauthor.com.

Facebook: @dianehartmanauthor Instagram: @dianehartmanauthor | 

Substack: @dianehartman

Getting Lost On My Way: Self-Discovery on Ireland’s Backroads

For fans of McCarthy’s Bar, a debut memoir about a woman’s humorous and poignant solo adventures of self-discovery on Ireland’s backroads following a painful divorce.

When an introverted, divorced, middle-aged mother and school librarian from the Midwest decides to leave her comfort zone and travel alone to Ireland, her desire to fulfill her dream overcomes her fear as she immerses herself into what will become an adventure of courage and self-discovery.

Motivated by her love of Irish music and Celtic spirituality, along with her desire to find healing from depression and divorce, Diane sets off for Ireland, a country she’s been obsessed with for years. Her romantic preconceptions of the Emerald Isle quickly clash with reality, however, and while there she faces many obstacles, including driving the narrow, ill-marked roads throughout the countryside she traverses. Nevertheless, this first sojourn leads to three more trips over the next six years, and she gradually learns to navigate Ireland’s back roads—not to mention her own personal and spiritual roads toward self-discovery and acceptance.

This heartfelt and humorous account of Diane’s adventures—including meeting author John O’Donohue, hanging out with an Irish rock band, traveling remote roads in search of a hermit nun, and meeting her favorite Irish musician not once but twice—is sure to inspire readers to get outside their own comfort zones and take some rewarding risks of their own.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing