05.25.2 lessons learned in the editing trenches – realizing I may be in for more than I thought

writing updates and lessons learned while editing (cross-posted from my Substack)

or, biting off more than I can chew.

the words "the right to write" typewritten on a sheet of paper, in a vintage typewriter
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

This update is cross-posted from my Substack. If you would like to receive regular writing updates and future book news, consider subscribing to my newsletter.

✍🏻Writing Updates

I made the brilliant (re: mad) decision to edit two manuscripts simultaneously, and it was sort of working. Is working. Sort of. I mean, I’m getting the edits done at a relatively decent pace (for me), but I’m starting to come to terms that what I thought would be a final proofread for Before You Called Me Baby (Book 1) is turning into a solid final (final) content edit. A mild developmental edit, if you will. Definitely not the simple line edit I thought it would be.

And that’s ok. Whatever makes the book better. I’m here for the long haul, after all. But it does mean coming to terms with the fact that I may not hit my fall release goal. Maybe late fall, if my body cooperates (with chronic migraine and summer storms triggering the pressure, that’s a BIG if). NGL, it’s gotten me a bit down. I amped myself up for a Fall 2025 release since I wrote it in my vision board/planner back in 2021.

If you’ve followed my journey on YT or the blog, you’ll know I queried for two years while pursuing trad pub before deciding that my work stood a better chance in indie. It was a decision I wrestled with (the thought of being a small business is daunting as heck), but I’ve been all in since I made it. Now, here I am, regretting the years I lost querying and, more recently, the time I spent thinking I was done with edits and ready for proofreading.

Still, I’m glad I can make these changes before putting it out into the world, though it will mean some tweaks to my publication plan. I’m also learning that my initial goal to have all three books edited and ready for a (semi)rapid release launch is not going to work. I’m not a fast writer and editing takes me twice, if not three times as long to complete. I’m never going to be the writer putting out 5 or 6 books (or more) in a year. It’s just not in me, unless I quit my day job (and that’s highly unlikely to ever to happen. Hello, I need health insurance). So, I’m coming to terms with having to make some realistic changes to my plan, and focusing on producing the best book I create, given my current reality.

Who knows, maybe I’ll get a burst of energy and push through to the finish line to meet my goal. I’m keeping the hope alive, if nothing else. 🤞🏻

📈Anyhow, here is May by the numbers

Current Drafts in Progress: 2

  • Before You Called Me Baby (Tangled Hearts Book 1)
  • My Favorite Mistake (Tangled Hearts Book 2)

⏲️Time spent working:

BYCMB 💜

  • Reading: 5 hours, 27 minutes
    • Read: 66 pages
    • Revising: 10 hours, 33 minutes
      • Revised: 59.5 pages

MFM ❤️

  • Revising: 7 hours, 26 minutes
    • Revised: 41 pages

Total time spent working on both drafts: 22.86 🎇

These numbers help me recognize the slow, but steady progress I’m making. This month I lost 13 days lost to migraine and/or travel. It also took me a few tries to find the most effective editing schedule to juggle these two projects with life and work, but after a couple of weeks, I found a plan that’s working, even though I missed some days.

As I write this, I’m down with a cold, but still making progress. Fingers crossed that it stays mild and goes away soon.

🎶Writing tunes

📹Latest Vlog

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vlog: Quiet Days 25.9 ✍🏻📑 Life & Writing Updates + Shop with Me Grocery Haul

A short DITL vlog, plus a chatty, sit down update about life, editing, and my current works in progress.

The time has come for a proper sit down chat about life, writing, and the current state of my novels.

The first half of features a day in the life vlog and the second half is a lengthy, chatty writing update.

Timestamps available on YouTube.

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video: My Year of Less 💰March 2025 & Q1 Budget Review + Low Buy Rules Update

Join me for a March budget recap… and the time has come for the Q1 low buy update! 💰

Join me for a March budget recap… and the time has come for the Q1 low buy update!

🙌🏻 Wins

  • March savings $503
  • Q1 savings $1239

😓 Challenges

  • too many date nights = fewer meals at home (falling on bad habits)
  • books are getting expensive, but I suddenly want them all

TLDR: Decent savings overall, but not feeling great about dining out as much in March and I’m rethinking some of my lowbuy rules.

💜

For more, subscribe to the blog.

You can follow my “quiet days” on YouTube or follow for writing updates on Substack.

Visit my linktr.ee or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.

Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.

vlog: Quiet Days 25.8 🍫 A Cozy Week In The Life (end Of March vlog)

Quiet days at the end of March. Date nights, trying the viral Dubai Chocolate (I am a weak human), catching up on work and life chores, and finally(!) sorting through the doll collection I recovered from my childhood bedroom.

*A small content warning for brief mention of loss.*

💜

For more, subscribe to the blog.

You can follow my “quiet days” on YouTube or follow for writing updates on Substack.

Visit my linktr.ee or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.

Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.

off the shelf: books I enjoyed in Q1 2025

All the books I read in Q1 (January through March) 2025… romance reads, self-help, and non-fiction

Disclaimer: The cake rating is my totally subjective, entirely arbitrary rating system. If I finished it, you can assume I enjoyed it regardless of rating. 5 🍰‘s generally mean that I absolutely loved it and will/have purchased a copy for my personal collection.

Read

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson 🍰🍰🍰.5

My first foray into anything omega verse related, and I’m sure it’s on the lighter side of things, but it was just what I needed after a truly emotional week. A tropey shifter romance with a fake dating subplot and plenty of spice. Lots of banter and cute, lighthearted romance moments. Very grumpy sunshine.

🌶️All the spice

Things We Hide From the Light by Lucy Score 🍰🍰🍰🍰

Lucy Score may be my new favorite read. I loved the first book in the Knockemout series and decided to jump back in. TWHFTL did not disappoint! Lucy Score writes a hefty book for contemporary romance, but I find myself loving all the details and character building. This one follows up on the suspense plot laid out in book 1 (watch me avoid spoilers), layering in plenty of emotional baggage, complicated feelings about relationships, and plenty of spice. Plus, there’s a dog rescue and I’m a sucker for a dog rescue. I already have book 3 lined up on the TRB shelf.

CW: gun violence, violence and threats against women

🌶️All the spice

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

Plucked from the TBR stack of doom… A Touch of Darkness hits all the marks I want from a modern Hades/Persephone retelling. And I love a Hades/Persephone retelling. Persephone is a young goddess with no powers, hiding her identity to live among mortals. Hades is a mysterious, misunderstood god who deals in deadly bargains. Persephone gets caught in a web more twisted than she expects…

Binged it over a couple of days and immediately bought the next book (and here I was, trying not to buy more books).

🫑/🌶️ Sweet and spicy

Be Your Best Self: Ten Life-changing Ideas to Reach Your Full Potential by Rebekah Ballagh 🍰🍰🍰🍰

I am a self-development book girlie and I have no qualms about admitting it. I first read a teaser from Ballagh’s book on her IG @journey_to_wellness. She is a counselor, coach, trainer, and speaker who often posts about self-care practices, mental health, fight or flight responses, etc. BYBS presents practical, gentle approaches to address issues like perfectionism, self-sabotage, imposter syndrome, inner child work, and more. I highly recommend if you’re working on a self-improvement journey or want to gain insight on how to be a better friend and ally to people dealing with these concerns.

The Stand-In by Lily Chu 🍰🍰🍰🍰

I’m vowed to read through my print TBR and this was one of the oldest titles that had been sitting on the pile (in terms of purchase, not print date).

Gracie’s life is turned upside down when her asshole boss harasses her out a job. Her mom is in a nursing facility and money is tight. Gracie is one catastrophe away from total disaster when she’s presented with a bargain she can’t refuse: serve as a stand-in for a famous Chinese and pretend to be her during social events in exchange for enough money to take care of her mom and pursue her dream of creating the perfect planning app. Of course, nothing is without it’s challenge, and when that challenge comes in the form of one of the hottest Chinese actors, Gracie knows she’s going to have to earn her keep.

🫑Low spice

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

A tiny but mighty little book. I carried this around in my bag for the last few months, reading it when I needed a reminder of the ways we fight for democracy and protect our peace.

Audiobooks

The audiobooks were really hitting this quarter (and doing the heavy lifting during my long commute).

Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

An important look at the rise of autocracy in America and a primer for our current condition. It’s a hard listen, though it did impart some hope. Highly recommend. The audiobook is narrated by the author.

Daydream by Hannah Grace 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

This may be my favorite in the Maple Hills series. I borrowed the audio from the library but I definitely plan to get a print copy for my collection. Plays on the “smart girl tutors jock who needs his pass his class” trope in the best way possible. Henry is a series favorite and he doesn’t disappoint as the caring artist hockey player who is more than willing to help Halle learn to love herself fully.

🌶️All the spice

Only for the Summer by Abby Jimenez 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

The third in Abby Jimenez’s Part of Your World Series starts with an AITA post about a friend, a dog, a broken lease and a terrible billboard. Justin is cursed to watch his ex’s get married as soon as they break up. Emma suffers from the same affliction. They team up to break each other’s curses and go their separate ways. You can guess how that plays out.

I may almost like this one even more than Yours Truly. It certainly made me tear up more. The narrators were perfect and the story made me feel all the feels.

CW: child abandonment, child neglect

🫑/🌶️ Sweet and spicy

Twisted Games by Ana Huang 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰

Grumpy bodyguard meets sunshiney princess romance with a palace intrigue side plot. The male narrator was the perfect amount of growly. Definitely inspires me to continue the series.

🌶️All the spice

Dear Roomie by Kate Meader

I am not a sporty girl, but I am a sporty book girl. Part of the Rookie Rebels series, Dear Roomie centers on a hockey player with a reputation for competitiveness and a desperate need to prove himself, the dog he rescues, and the woman he hires as a live-in dog nanny. It’s a fun listen and just what I needed when everything felt awful with the world.

🌶️All the spice

DNF

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

Didn’t quite connect with this one, though I’m waiting on a copy of the audiobook and plan to give it a second chance.

📖I track my reading on LibraryThing and Storygraph.

💜

For more, subscribe to the blog.

You can follow my “quiet days” on YouTube or follow for writing updates on Substack.

Visit my linktr.ee or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.

Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.

video: My year of less 💵 February Low/No Buy Budget Review & Check In

reviewing my February spending habits and reconsidering some of my low/no buy rules

Join me for a sit-down as I reflect on February spending, challenges, struggles, and worries about the future of my finances.

In this update:

  • 💰$163 saved (in addition to my usual savings)
  • Dining out is still a trouble area, but improving.
  • Groceries are on point.
  • Dentistry struck with a vengeance.
  • Rethinking book purchasing and the value of having physical libraries (at 07:53)
  • Rethinking my 15 non-essential items list (at 08:29)

💜

For more, subscribe to the blog.

You can follow my “quiet days” on YouTube or follow for writing updates on Substack.

Visit my linktr.ee or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.

Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.

the View from Sunday: 7.25

reflecting on loss and regrets

I lost a dear friend this week and his loss got me thinking about all the things I want to do in this little life and the things I wish I had done when I was younger.

One thing I regret is that I didn’t travel more when I was in my 20s, but the reality is that I was in grad school for nearly 5 of those years, getting started on saving for an emergency fund, and paying down my student loans. I focused on my finances and starting my career, and those are choices that I definitely don’t regret, as they contributed to the modicum of financial freedom that I have now in my 40s. But I do wish I had taken more trips, especially as my migraine condition has taken a larger toll on my life. My last flight was at the end of 2019, right before the pandemic started. I didn’t travel at all, even within the state, for at least two years after that, especially as my grandmother’s Alzheimer’s worsened and my mom’s need for backup increased (the number of times I had to make an emergency drive for one or the other… I can’t even begin to count ’em).

I have a conference coming up (🤞🏻for a pain free week), but I really want to take some time to explore places around the state, even if money is tight and life is lifeing (i.e. my elderly parents are having a crisis). Out of state travel likely isn’t in the cards right now, but I hope it will be one day. Like I said, I already have some regrets, I don’t want to have even more as I grow older.

My other big dream is getting my books out. I sometimes regret the time I spent querying trad agents. It was a learning experience; I gained insight on the industry, but I should’ve been brave and committed to indie from the start. What I feared most was my ability to build a business and market myself, but it’s not like trad doesn’t require the same level of industry on the part of the average author.

We don’t all get the luxury of aging and I don’t want to waste more time than I already have… I lose enough of my days to pain. I don’t want to lose more to other people’s opinions.

Hug your loved ones, pet your furry friends, and make the big choices while you can. 🌼

💜

For more, subscribe to the blog.

You can follow my “quiet days” on YouTube or follow for writing updates on Substack.

Visit my linktr.ee or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.

Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.

video: March Update ☕ Life Lately: thinking out loud and updates on life, writing, and all the things

a sit-down chat

March has been interesting… I’ve been ill, which means everything has been slow and I feel dreadfully behind. Join me for a sit down ramble as I think out loud about life, writing, and the current state of my projects and editing goals. Plus, thoughts on the future of my self-publishing plan, the indie market, and reading as both joy and resistance in light of the current climate.

💜

For more, subscribe to the blog.

You can follow my “quiet days” on YouTube or follow for writing updates on Substack.

Visit my linktr.ee or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com.

Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.

the view from Sunday, 6.25

Recovering from Illness: Finding Balance and Rest

And we’re back! Apparently, my body likes to remind me to rest by going absolutely ballistic and making me crash. I may have caught a mild bout of norovirus or ingested something absolutely heinous… no official diagnosis, but it had me 🤢🤮 for three days and left me with an awful, pounding migraine attack for well over a week. It took me about a week and a half to fully recover (eg. get back to my usual state of low grade exhaustion), during which I mostly became one with my bed (full rotting mode activated), consumed hours of Hulu’s How I Escaped My Cult, read a physical book and listened to an entire audiobook, and engaged in very little activity besides a few walks. It was a lot and left me feeling very behind in work/life/writing/general housekeeping. I hate this feeling, but I also hate I feel this way at all.

musings and ramblings from my sick bed

I am a frequent proponent of rest, so why is it that it takes an illness for me to take the kind of rest I so desperately need lately? Part of it is the pressure to meet the goals I set for writing and publishing in 2025. I’m not the quickest editor and I have three drafts in various stages of revision. I also have a list of to-dos to prepare for publishing. If I’m going to meet those goals, I have to work and that means consistency. Consistency means pushing through the days when I’m not motivated or energized. Lately, that’s been a real challenge. I even suspect I may be cycling through burnout again. The current state of affairs has been a distraction and source of anxiety, making writing even more difficult, let alone concentration. All this to say, the times are tough and my brain is on fire.

I started editing this week but it’s going at a snail’s pace. I want to do more. I want to write. But I pull up the draft and I can barely get the words to come together. 😞 Even writing about this has been difficult . Thinking through the mess of feelings/doubts, wondering if the effort will be worth it… It’s paralyzing, but there’s no way out but through. I’m going to keep chugging along and doing my best, because giving up isn’t an option for me. Rest, however, needs to be a top priority. It’s been too easy to fall back on old habits and doomscroll before bed. I need to re-establish a solid nighttime routine minus screens. I have a pile of print books. Let’s turn to reading instead scrolling. Reading is and has always been my greatest source of comfort. Back to books! Back to tea! Back to getting in bed before midnight and actually getting a solid night’s sleep! We can do this!

If you’d like to follow me on this journey, stick around and subscribe. 💗 You can also subscribe to my “quiet days” vlog series on YouTube or learn more about my writing at emiliagracewrites.com. I also post about my writing process on Substack. For more, visit my linktr.ee

Note to longtime readers: In case you missed the last year’s update, I changed my name to Emilia Grace on most of my socials to align with my penname.

video: quiet days 25.6 ✨ Cutting my hair, a Valentine’s Surprise 💘, and weekend writing

Updates on editing book 2 and my progress on the draft…

Firstly, I cut my hair! Join me for a Valentine’s surprise and weekend writing session.

Updates on editing book 2 and my progress on the draft…

How I’m working through the big edits and refining the plot before moving on to the next stage of edits. Plus, balancing life chores and writing to keep things from falling apart during the week 😅.