On Having A Baby, Writing A Book + No Longer Waiting
Some personal updates, including my epiphany when leaving the hospital with my daughter and my slate of writing projects for 2025.
Last month, as I was wheeled out of my hospital room with my five-day-old daughter nestled in my arms, I had a core-shaking realization: I’m no longer waiting. This is it. Silent, joyful tears welled in my eyes as I contemplated what I was going home to: building a life with my dream baby and the freedom to pursue a writing career full-time.
There have been countless moments in my life where I have felt stuck in a period of waiting or thrust into a “the-only-way-out-is-through” circumstance, with the object of my desire out of my reach. I hate waiting - the inaction, the powerlessness, the futile sitting in the present when the future seems unreachable.
When I was 15, after seeing the newly released film “You’ve Got Mail,” I remember asking my mom if I was ever going to have a boyfriend. (Spoiler: not really)
I don’t recall the year, but I remember being in the bathroom during a rowdy Thanksgiving with extended family, listening to the loving chaos of kids and football and bickering and food prep outside the door, when the desire for a large family of my own cemented. When I turned 30, God gave me a vision for a strong, kind man and a baby girl; He said, “this is what I have in store for you.”
I’ve wished for more time to write for twenty years.
I believe in agency. I believe in the ability to make our lives great. But building a family and writing full-time are not easy wishes to make come true. Responsibly, anyway. I’ve had to wait and plan and wait and work and wait and doubt and wait and hope and wait. And wait.
Today though, I’m no longer waiting. This is it. My baby girl is in the next room asleep, and I’m writing to you about my publishing plans for this year. This is it.
For those of you who do not know my story, here’s a brief recap of recent events: In March 2024, after two years of preparation and pursuit, my PR firm Golden Word was acquired, and I exited as CEO so I could begin writing full-time. That same month, after four unsuccessful IUI rounds, I became pregnant as a single mother by choice. It was all happening!
In August, I launched this newsletter, Plot Twists, to revive my creative habit and set a marketing foundation for my burgeoning writing career. Big picture, I envision giving myself three years(-ish) to write and pursue getting my novels published full-time before reverting to a traditional (read: paying) career. You know, unless I become a major author like my high school classmate Taylor Jenkins Reid…
In December, my dream baby Celine Cooper Edelman was born. Now I’m tearing up again. How lucky am I? I made her! And we were made for each other. I’m so in love with her and with being a mom, at long last. She was worth the wait.
That brings us to today. Now we’re moving from the emotional essay to the newsy, update portion of the email.
As I begin to emerge from the haze of very early motherhood (Celine is just seven weeks old), I’m mapping out priority writing projects for the year and figuring out how to work in between feedings, play time and nap time. It’s going to be an adventure!
My life with Celine is rapidly changing. A week ago, I was a MESS, unsure of what I was doing as a mother and nervous I would never have time to myself again. Today, I’ve regained my footing, and we’re settling into our rhythm. I have room to breathe, to take a shower, to spend the morning cuddling, to be spontaneous, to be creative. It’s coming back. Imagine where we’ll be in a week, a month!
Instead of thinking of balancing motherhood and writing as hard or stressful, what if I go back to that moment leaving the hospital and considered it from the perspective of living the dream?! All of the sudden, what could feel overwhelming becomes a privilege, the opportunity of a lifetime. From that lens, time to look ahead.
My slate of writing projects for 2025:
Priority #1 / Complete the final edit of Interlude, and query agents.
Interlude is my dual-perspective, historical fiction novel. Each stuck in a period of waiting, two women living in the same house in Atlanta struggle to hold down the home front and their growing families while their husbands fight in the Civil War and Iraq War. Mother of four and deeply in love with her Ray, Caroline Lowell feels her resolve and very sanity begin to fray as the Civil War drags on and letters from Ray stop. Meanwhile in 2005, impulsive, brash journalist Sable Daily is at odds with the conflict that has torn her new husband from her and begins keeping secrets from him, including her abortion.
Timeline / ASAP
Goal / Secure agent + publisher. I’m manifesting a publishing deal by year-end.
Priority #2 / Continue publishing Plot Twists.
I’m considering a shift from weekly story releases to alternating between stories and content. This will give me more time to work on Priority #1 and make it easier for readers to keep up with the newsletter.
Timeline / weekly releases
Goal / Develop my creative habit, test material, build an audience and provide you with delightful stories.
Priority #3 / Increase subscribers to Plot Twists and followers on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
Candidly, a larger audience will help me secure a publishing deal. At the core, all I’d like to do is get my writing before more people. Even if I touch just one person, that’s enough. But how cool would it be to get book clubs reading a selection of shorts from Plot Twists? Or get a discussion of each story going in the chat? Look for more from me offering ways to engage.
Priority #4 / Write the next novel. Once Interlude is done, there’s no time to waste; it’s onto the next!
If I’m writing full-time, then I want to be completing novels. I’ve been working on these plots in my head for years. Time to make them happen! Do I start with A Meet Cute For Christmas and its sequel (I already have it figured out!!) or The Accidental Socialite? Deep questions I cannot yet answer!
Goal / Gives me either a follow-up to Interlude or a second shot on goal with publishers.
Ideas I Can’t Ignore /
Consider Lifted as a project. The proposal is already done; I could easily put it out there. I had secured an agent in 2023, but he wasn’t the right fit for me. As much as I love this idea, is this a priority amid these other ideas? I was surprised by the level of interest I saw when I previewed the chapter in December; it was encouraging.
Write the children’s books. I have two concepts solidified. Technically, the word count for a children’s book is much shorter, but then those words have to really count. And then there are the illustrations! You’ll get a preview of the copy soon - you can tell me what you think and help me weigh the opportunity.
Build out my risk perspective. I have so many thoughts here, but they’re not fully organized. I want to be a champion for everyone going for it.
True Priority #1 / Raise a tiny human. 💞
That’s it. Just a few things on the horizon for 2025. I can’t wait.
Thank you for being a reader. It means so much. Stay tuned for updates as as I move through this slate of projects.
I just learned I could have been linking music in this cool format^ rather than hyperlinking! Now you can easily listen to songs while reading the pieces. I’m going to go back and update all posts now! I was listening to this track from Mallrat while writing today and thought you might enjoy. More people need to know her music!
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So proud of you, keep writing. God has a plan for you and you have tiny human to raise in it.
soon!