'Would You Marry A Farmer? Confessions of An Irish Farmerette' is a non-fiction book based on my perception of life as an Irish farmerette.
I'm Lorna, a mum, wife to dairy farmer, farmerette, social media consultant, ex-teacher, blogger and columnist and now I'm going to become an author with this book. Two years ago I started blogging at irishfarmerette.com and a post entitled 'Advice To Those Considering Marrying A Farmer' which gave tips to any lady considering jumping over the brush with a farmer, became very popular. Written in a tongue-in-cheek style, it detailed what married life on a farm would be like. Women (and men) all over the world have read it and laughed over how it is so close to the truth and how those parts of farming life which can be harsh or irritating can also be funny.
These stories and more will now be converted into a book focusing on the lives of farming women. If you are the daughter, sister or wife of a farmer, I think you will find lots to empathise with in this book - not to mention chortle over.
I was reared on a dairy farm, lived in the UK for 12 years and have now returned to dairy and beef farming in Ireland with my ex-scientist now-farmer husband Brian. We have two children and besides farming, I'm an avid blogger and I teach small businesses how to use social media .
The funds raised will go towards a portion of the publishing costs (approx €6,000 for 1000 copies), illustrations (approx €300 for a single illustration and we'd love lots of quirky illustrations throughout the book), a website where people can purchase the book and read more about life on the farm (€500), press photography (€400), proofreading (€500), design and layout (€1000). I will manage the social media and online marketing of the book and it would cost between €1000-€3000 for offline PR and Marketing if that route is taken. I estimate it will cost in the region of €9000-€12000 to produce and market a beautiful and funny book about farming.
I plan to have funny quotes and observances about farming with a quirky illustration between each chapter. I really want this to be a beautifully presented book that will raise a chuckle or chortle each time the page is turned.
Supporters can back this journey by pre-ordering a copy or signing up for other exciting rewards such as an online social media course or adopting one of our 2014 heifer calves at Garrendenny!
You can read the original post here - we would love to know what you think
I will have a post at irishfarmerette.com explaining the 'American Gothic' shots at the start of the video where we look very stern with the sprong between us!
I'll be sharing extracts from the book over the course of this 35 day campaign in the activity updates so do stay tuned.