Thoughts on Writing "Isles of Dread"

I'm now well advanced in writing my upcoming campaign, and so I of course have some thoughts:

• Writing these things is hard! Just the routine of piling up words upon words is tough, and making it all interesting, ensuring it hangs together, and that things that get set up all pay off is a whole new level of tough. I do like to think I've done a good job, and that the outcome is somewhat comparable to "Lost Mine of Phandelver" (though that's comparable in the sense of "not as good as"). But it's definitely hard work.
• I keep finding myself caught between two stools: am I writing this for me to run it, or as a mock-product for some hypothetical group in the future. That's a bit of an issue, since the notes I need for myself are much less extensive than otherwise. I've tended mostly towards the mock-product side of things - if the campaign goes well then I may consider polishing it up and making it available somewhere.
• I really like this adventure format: a first part that starts somewhat in the middle of things, then introduce a home base, then a third part exploring a sandbox (with multiple micro entries, three one-or-two encounter areas, and four mini-adventures), and then a big adventure to bring the thing to its conclusion. That feels almost ideal for a 1-5 level mini-campaign, which is also ideal for my current group.
• I've been somewhat frustrated by some of the gaps in the array of available monsters - in particular as regards things like elves and dragonborn (the latter may feature in Fizban's, which I don't have). This has led to me generating rather more custom stat blocks than I'd really prefer. But that's okay - doing so have been a somewhat interesting experience in its own right.
• I really wish the guidance for building monsters, encounters, and adventures provided by the DMG was better. Frankly, that book has turned out to be a massive disappointment.

(Speaking of disappointments, it looks like we've lost one player and may lose another imminently. In which case the survival of the campaign as a whole is imperilled before we even start. Oh well.)