Q. When and why did you decide to start blogging?

A. I first started blogging in 2013. I was finding motherhood really hard (Henry had just turned one) and I felt like everybody else was coping. I looked online for something to reassure me that I wasn’t the only one struggling, but everything I found just made me feel worse. It took me less than an hour to set up a blog and publish my first post. I didn’t overthink it and I certainly didn’t imagine anything would come of it – I just needed somewhere to let it all out!

Q. How do you maintain audience loyalty in the competitive world of honest mum-blogging? Is there room for more bloggers?

A. I’d say there is always room for more bloggers! If you have something you’d like to say, you should say it. My followers have always been really supportive but many of them have been following our family for over five years now, so I suppose they feel invested!

Q. Tell us about the events you run: Mums Night Out and Knackered Mums Night Out.

A. I love doing these events and the general idea is to get mums out of the house of an evening, where they can enjoy a glass of wine and have a giggle about the reality of parenting. It’s a bit like group therapy.

Q. To what do you ascribe your popularity and how did that lead to your book-writing opportunities?

A. I think it was a combination of factors. Timing is one, as mine was one of the earliest “honest parenting” blogs. The time and effort I put in to my Facebook page also helped as it grew my audience quickly. Finally, I like to think the book-writing opportunity came about because, above all else, I’m a good writer. It’s all I want to do.

Q. How did you find the process of writing the book? Was it much different to writing for the blog?

A. I love the book-writing process. The chapters or sections themselves tend to be very similar to my blogs, so the style of writing is the same, but as a process it’s a lot more complex. My blogs are thrown together randomly, whereas a structure is planned for the books and there’s a lot more editing. I find the self-discipline needed for book-writing quite hard though, as I’m very easily distracted!

@theunmumsymum
theunmumsymum.co.uk