Josh Jackson Author

Since finishing the first draft of my first-ever novel back in May 2025, I suffered an obstruction which forestalled my aims to sit down and get grinding on the editing process.

But finally, after months of setbacks and delays, I got myself into a situation where I can actually focus, beginning in mid-January.

And now, the editing process is well underway. For me it consists of reading the manuscript over and over, looking for anything wrong. Like various words I tend to overuse (like had or was), and of course my many typos. Now, along with the novel, I do have a lot on my daily plate, so I can only devote around two hours a day to the words.

Thus, Round 1 of editing, which resulted in the second draft, took a month to complete. And I ended up adding five thousand words, taking the total up past 85,000. Round 2 took three weeks, and involved making another pass at the basics as well as ensuring various scenes are clear and make sense. And finding yet mroe tpyos. Argh.

As I finally eliminate the basic errors or shortcomings, and going through Rounds 3 and 4, I have to get into applying various touches to various parts, embellishing some, simplifying others. Checking for continuity, making sure the timeline is correct. Getting to know my creation a little better each read-through.

And there’s a lot of technical things I still need to research to make sure I’ve got right. Some of this is online, some asking experts in various fields. So far my nephew has been very helpful, as he’s got professional experience in several subjects covered in the book. Thanks so much Alex!

I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that, with a dash of help from others here and there, progress is being made, and daily. So the excitement grows, and with good reason.

With any luck the novel may be ready to publish in less than 90 days!

As we get closer to publication, I’ll start teasing the plot.

And for my readers who expect more outdoors-themed reading, fear not– this book does involve outdoor activities. Ones I’m quite familiar with, which I’ve previously written about, and are quite popular. You may even take part in them yourself, especially now as spring is right around the corner. The outdoors beckon!

And of course if you’re looking to get inspiration for your next outdoor adventure, or would like to learn things about the outdoors and nature, be sure to stop by my outdoors-themed YouTube channel, Always Ants.

Stay tuned, subscribe, bookmark, or just check in periodically, because I’ll be sure to keep you updated as to how the project is going, as well as when the anticipated publication date turns out to be.

I do also post other things here like essays or rants on various subjects, as well as short fiction, writing exercises, or news I’d like to share. So perhaps stick around for that stuff as well.

And thank you so much for reading!