It’s Not Just Writing the Book.
People think writing a book is the hard part.
It’s not. (well it is but it’s not the hardest part)
Writing the poems?
That’s the part I love.
That’s the part that feels natural.
Everything else?
That’s where the time goes.
You don’t just write a book and press publish.
You sit there staring at a title
Longer than you should.
Changing it.
Saying it out loud.
Wondering—does this actually feel like the book I wrote?
Then there’s the dedication.
One page.
Should be simple… but it’s not.
Because you’re trying to say something real
Without overdoing it.
Without getting it wrong.
The introduction?
That one will test you.
How much do you say?
Do you explain yourself?
Or just let the poems speak?
You write it.
Delete it.
Rewrite it.
Until it finally sounds like you.
Then comes the content.
Putting the poems in order.
That surprised me.
Because it’s not random.
It has to flow.
One poem into the next—
Like the book is breathing properly.
Move one poem…
And suddenly the whole thing feels off.
So you move it again.
And again.
Then the manuscript.
Spacing.
Font sizes.
Headings.
Making sure every single page looks the same.
Something as small as a gap between stanzas—
If it’s off, you feel it.
So you fix it.
Then find another.
And another.
Page numbers come last.
Always.
Because if you do them too early,
Everything shifts and you end up doing it twice.
Then the copyright page.
People don’t think about it much—
But it matters.
Your name.
Your work.
Your ownership.
That page makes it clear—
This is mine.
And just when you think—
Right. I’m done.
You’re not.
Uploading it to a publishing site
Is a whole process on its own.
You have to convert your file.
Check the format.
Make sure it actually uploads properly.
Because what looks perfect on your screen
Can look completely different once it’s processed.
You upload it…
Wait…
Then check the preview.
And suddenly—
A page has shifted.
A poem has dropped lower than it should.
Spacing looks off again.
So you go back.
Fix it.
Upload it again.
Then there’s the cover.
Wrong size? Rejected.
Wrong format? Rejected.
So you adjust it
Until it fits exactly how they want it.
Then you’re filling in everything else:
Book description.
Author name.
Keywords.
Categories.
Stuff that has nothing to do with writing—
But matters if you want people to find your work.
And even when everything is uploaded…
You still check it again.
Because at that point—
You don’t trust it 😅
That’s indie publishing.
Not just writing the book—
But finishing it.
On your own.
And I’ll say this clearly—
Indie writers don’t get the respect they deserve.
Because people see the final book
And think that’s all there is.
They don’t see the hours.
The second-guessing.
The constant fixing.
The doing everything yourself.
It’s slow.
It’s frustrating.
It takes way more time than people realise.
But when it finally goes through…
When everything lines up
And you see your book sitting there—
That moment hits different.
Because it’s not just the poems.
It’s the title.
The dedication.
The introduction.
The layout.
The edits.
The uploads.
All of it.
And yeah…
I’d still take writing the poems over all of this.
Every time.
Because that’s the only part
That feels like freedom.
I’m not an expert.
But I’ve got a little experience now, to know indie writers deserve far more respect than they get.
Thank you for reading
Your DislexicPoet 🖤