I share some tips in a thread on Reddit, in response to someone with a similar confusion over the design intent of the software.
As a disclaimer, while I do have a background in design, it has been many years since I have been in the trade (you’ll note I date myself in the first paragraph). I do not think my tool recommendations are too out of date however, as such enormous complicated software tends not to fluctuate from one year to the next (even with the post itself being seven years old—I think the main addenda is that Affinity Publisher has since then gone from just-released to a mature and affordable option). I’ve also written on how LibreOffice can be used as a kind of budget DTP.
You will also find many other discussion about integration and workflow pipelines around here, if you do a little searching. This is hardly the first time anyone has asked this question.