alias e='TERM=xterm-256color emacsclient -t'
alias ec='emacsclient -c'
alias ed='emacs --daemon'
in my .zshrc to do just that but for some reason I use vim anyway, due to it's omnipresence on every server box I go into and I suppose muscle memory of typing vim whatever_file_i_want_to_edit .
Add (server-start) to your .emacs and keep a running emacs around long-term. Then you can edit single files quickly with emacsclient -t.