So I’ve been dipping back into the blogging world recently and I realized something kind of sad… a lot of the blogs I used to love during college are either inactive or completely gone. Like a ghost town complete with tumbleweeds.🥲
I used to hop on here and scroll through such thoughtful, funny, honest posts. People sharing everything from life updates to poetry to book reviews and rambling thoughts and while that’s not completely gone, many of the blogs I regularly interacted with and community feeling is greatly missed.
I’d love to get plugged back into the WordPress community and discover some fresh blogs to read. So if you have any favorite blogs you follow, or if you blog (please do!), drop a link in the comments! Whether it’s cozy lifestyle content, creative writing, faith-based posts, deep thoughts, or just good ol’ fashioned life updates, I’m right here, friend, and I’m all ears.
Help a girl fill her reader with good stuff again 🫶 Can’t wait to see what y’all share!
Look, I thought self-publishing my book would feel like presenting the world a piece of my soul and everyone would instantly clap at my literary genius *dramatic hair flip*. But let’s get back to reality and discuss it because while I’m not a genius with a masterpiece to produce, the whole process had moments where it felt a sort of like cyclical hell of reformatting the same script over and over again…just to reupload it and see A new problem had been invented by my means of fixing the previous problem. Lovely.
So here, dear reader, are a few poems chronicling my deeply emotional, slightly ridiculous (and mundane) journey with Kindle Direct Publishing. May they bring you laughter, healing, and maybe a slight eye twitch in solidarity.
The Upload Spiral
(A sonnet, sort of. Shakespeare is not impressed.)
I clicked “Upload”—how easy!—with coffee in hand, A hopeful young writer with dreams so grand. But lo! My margins were not flush, my gutter misbehaved, And half of my poem was tragically shaved.
“Bleed error,” it screamed, “Fix your trim size, you doof!” My table of contents went straight up through the roof…(of the page.) I resized and reformatted, cursed Kindle’s name, Then tried a new layout… with results just the same.
I whispered to Canva, “Make me a cover!” She laughed, “Sure thing… but your title’s hungover.” So I rage-ate some chips and prayed to the onedrive cloud, My PDF won’t open. I screamed… out loud.
Formatting Hell: A Memoir in Free Verse
I thought importing a Word doc would be simple. Just CTRL + C, CTRL + V. Easy. Peasy.
Even…lemon squeasy.
Then Kindle turned my paragraph breaks into a n spattered s p a c e d
mess My images migrated to the top of the page like penguins heading north for winter. The title page had opinions, That differed from mine.
rebellion.
Page numbers? They exist in my mind only.
Cover Designer’s Lament
(A limerick)
A gal thought her cover was sleek, ‘Til Kindle said, “Nope. Fix. Then tweak.” The spine was too thick, “This was supposed to be quick,“ Now she cries into Canva each week.
The Final Click
(A motivational spoken-word poem performed under a single spotlight)
I did it. I hit “Publish.” Tears in my eyes,
Will it sell? Will it flop? Will I check the dashboard twice a day for three weeks and then forget I even wrote it?
Yes. Yes, I will. And I’ll do it again, because I’m a KDP author. And I thrive on chaos.
(Or so I tell myself)
In Conclusion…
If you’re about to upload your first book to Kindle Direct Publishing, just know you’re not alone. Your margins may be askew and cause you to weep. Your soul may briefly exit your body when the previewer crashes for the fifth time. But you’ll live to publish again.
And hey, once you’ve cried it out and your book is live, you get to do the most magical thing of all: click “View on Amazon” and text your friends, “Look, I’m famous.”
Cover reveal!Notes I’ve already made of things that need to be added and fixed.The book’s poems are separated by seasons. Back bio!
Aaaand I’m officially in the thick of the ongoing battle that is trying to get it published through KDP. If you’ve never wrestled with Kindle’s formatting system, let me just say: it’s an extreme sport. This time around, my main enemy has been margin sizing. (Margins! The most boring yet somehow most powerful force known to man.) A few of my poems that originally played around with white space had to be rearranged, which was honestly heartbreaking. There’s nothing like fighting for your artistic vision against a stubborn little “your margins are off” warning box.
But!! After many rounds of staring at my laptop, dramatically sighing, and reworking layouts, I finally got my proof copy in the mail today! For those who don’t know, a proof copy is basically the version you get to lovingly (or not-so-lovingly) scribble edits all over before you fix everything and upload your final manuscript. I immediately busted out my pen and started making notes because, of course, the second you see your book in print, all your little mistakes jump out like “SURPRISE! You missed me!”
The book ended up being about 100 pages of narrative poetry, telling the story of a girl who lives in a cottage and her various adventures and conversations with the Carpenter (a stand-in for Christ). It’s cozy and intimate and feels like sitting on a creaky wooden porch, sharing life with someone who knows you inside and out. There are poems about baking bread, going on little walks, asking hard questions, sitting quietly, making things by hand…all the small, sacred moments that make up a life of faith.
I’m honestly so excited (and so nervous) to share it when it’s ready. It’s one thing to write poems privately; it’s a whole other thing to send them out into the world and hope they land softly somewhere. Either way, just holding a physical copy of something I made…even a messy, needs-edits version…feels surreal and really, really special.
Thanks for cheering me on through all the margins, the formatting fails, and the many, many sighs. I can’t wait to show you more soon! 💛
I’ve been thinking a lot about how writers connect with each other online. Over the years, platforms like WordPress have been an amazing way to share thoughts, stories, and tips. Most of you drop by to read, and every now and then, someone leaves a comment that warms my heart. Honestly, I love this dynamic, and it’s perfectly fine if reading and moving on is your vibe.
But lately, I’ve been wondering: is there interest in something more community-oriented?
I’ve scrolled through countless writing forums, and while some are thriving, they tend to have huge memberships. That’s awesome for activity, but for me (and maybe for you?), it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd. I started thinking about what it would be like to build a smaller, more personal writing space—something cozy where everyone has a seat at the table.
Since I’m not ready to spend $300 a year upgrading my WordPress just to test this idea, I did a little digging and found freeforums.net, a platform that lets you create forums for free. It was so easy to set up (seriously, 10/10 recommend if you’ve ever thought about this yourself), and now… I have a forum ready to go! Here’s a quick preview:
I’ll introduce you to the spaces I’ve set up so far:
🪑 The Coffee Shop This is the general hangout spot. Think casual chats, checking in on how everyone’s doing, and sipping virtual lattes while talking about anything and everything.
✍️ The Writing Lab For technical discussions about writing. Need feedback on sentence structure? Want to debate the merits of first vs. third person? This is the place.
📚 The Library Here, we’ll share what we’re reading or watching—whether it’s the latest bestseller, a nostalgic TV show, or an indie book you can’t stop thinking about.
🛍️ The Bookstore A space to celebrate writing achievements, share self-published works, and recommend tools, resources, or books you love.
🏛️ The Town Hall Where announcements, updates, and fun events (think writing challenges or contests) will live.
📌 The Bulletin Board Looking for beta readers? Want to collaborate on a project? This is where networking happens.
🌳 The Park A lighthearted zone for creative writing games, prompts, or exercises to spark inspiration. Also For those tough days when writer’s block hits or imposter syndrome creeps in. A safe place to vent, seek support, and remind yourself you’re not alone.
I’m genuinely curious—does this sound like a space you’d want to join? Or do you prefer to keep your writing life separate from structured communities? Either way, there’s no pressure!
I’ll include a poll below to get a feel for interest, but feel free to drop a comment, too. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Poll: Would you join a cozy writing forum?
Whether the forum takes off or not, I’m just happy to keep connecting with you all here. Thank you for always making this space feel so welcoming.
Just wanted to bring y’all a quick life update as it relates to my blog posts. 😅😂
I started a new job (my first full time job/internship position) which has been going great but it means I’m going to slow down a little bit on posts at least until I’m more well adjusted. 😂 As you can probably tell from the haphazard emojis, I’m a little tired. 😂 The job is great, I’m just having to adjust to a new sleep schedule.😂😂😂😭
Posts may appear more frequently on the weekends now but I’m not entirely sure yet.😂 Y’all know how it is. 😂
Hello, Lovelies! Hope everyone is doing well this fine day!
I just wanted to jump on here real quick and share my latest writing related coding project. I present to you: “Writing Prompts for the squad”
It’s a fun little writing generator where you type in character names and generate a writing prompt. I put a lot of my friends names into the generator and came up with a lot of fun one-shot ideas. I still want to add more prompts but I definitely encourage you to check it out if that sounds like you’re thing. Click here to navigate to it if you’re interested!
I’m just full of good news these days (fingers crossed I’m not jinxing myself by stating that).
Anyways! Fun Announcement time!
My work has been featured on a lovely podcast “Expressions & Definitions” featuring Nicole Renee. This podcast covers poetry, specifically poetry themed around love. A few weeks back, Nicole contacted me and asked if I would be willing to have my work featured and to do an interview with her. It seemed like a wonderful opportunity so I ended up saying, “yes”.
A huge thanks to Miss Nicole. Her feedback was so thoughtful and the interview felt so comfortable while simultaneously thoughtful. My work is featured and read on the February 16, 2022 podcast and my interview will be coming out on the 21st.
I highly encourage you to check out Expressions & Definitions in general as it is a thoughtful podcast that could possibly introduce you to a variety of new poets and works that you would have otherwise not found. A link to her blog can also be found here. I definitely encourage you to stop by her blog and show her some support and love!
Alrighty! I think that’s a wrap! Thanks for stopping by to listen to my good news! Have a lovely day!
Hello, ladies and gents! I’ve got a fun little announcement that admittedly has absolutely nothing to do with writing prompts or tips. But I’m obviously going to share it anyways (why else would I be typing this post?). I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this on my blog before but I make jewelry. A lot of it. It started as a stress relief activity during my junior year of high school and SURPRISE! Life continues to get stressful so I’ve been enjoying this hobby for almost three years now? Maybe more… anyways, that’s besides the point. What is the point is-
I have a fricken etsy shop.
Angsty Little Cupcake’s designs, named after my personal Instagram handle. It’s a project that I’m going at with my sister and I’d love to show you some of the stuff we’ve made…
Most pieces have a sort of fantasy/cottage core theme. My personal favorites are the fairy wings and the mushrooms. So if you want to sneak a peak at these pieces or buy one, feel free! I’ll be nice and give you the link: click here
Feel free to spread it around as it’s not a secret! *whispers* Or is it?
Alrighty! I have homework to do so I’ll see you lovelies later! Thanks for getting this far in my post! I hope to see you around!
By the Brooke 