HTMD Book Launch Postmortem

An unfiltered look back at launch month, plus what’s happening with book two

It has officially been three weeks since Henry Tudor Must Die entered the world!

Here’s what has happened so far:

I had a launch with 75+ friends and family (and some strangers!) at my beloved local indie bookstore.
I spoke to more than 200 people at the National Writers Series about the Tudors, skulls, and why I hate AI (among other things). There’s a fun recording of the event, and I particularly recommend tuning in for a few minutes at the 25:53 mark if you like your books with a side of politics. (I sure do!) https://www.youtube.com/live/eFYjYngw7nw
I did a lecture at the library about my writing process, had a blast at a witchy women panel at Anderson’s Bookshop, and am looking forward to a night of medieval merriment this Friday at The Folded Leaf in Michigan.
HTMD has popped up in stories with Woman’s World, Parade, Book Riot, and Michigan Public Radio, plus some incredibly fun and cool podcasts. (I need to make a list!)
I have been so, so lucky to get tagged in posts about the book, to get pictures of it on bookstore shelves, and to make new friends among readers, authors, and Tudor Queen fans!

It’s been a whirlwind. And from the outside, it looks so happy! But in the weeks leading up to my launch, I was miserable.

The Pre-Pub Blues

A lot of this had to do with the grief of losing my soul cat, Koko, less than a month before the book release. My perspective shifted entirely, and I found it so hard to care about posting on Instagram or being in a Goodreads giveaway when I’d just lost one of the loves of my life.

Compounding that was the fact that I was on deadline for book two developmental edits—the BIG edits from my editor. I had expected these months ago, hoping they wouldn’t overlap with launch, but…they did. And it was incredibly stressful to navigate my full-time job, my grief, launch of book one, and edits of book two. (More on the lattermost below.)

There was also the knowledge that HTMD was poised for a moderately successful launch, but not a big bang. I already knew I wasn’t going to be in any book clubs or boxes, I wasn’t getting a splashy feature in a big magazine, and I definitely wasn’t hitting a bestseller list.

Honestly, I cried almost every day for a month leading up to launch. I cried ON my launch day, and not happy tears. More like “I can’t pretend I’m okay” tears. And “I don’t know if I’ll sell enough books” tears. And “Is my career over before it even began” tears. And “I just wish I had Koko back” tears.

Some authors get the post-publication blues. For me, it was the pre-pub blues for all the reasons listed above. I am feeling a lot better now, and I’ve been having so much fun connecting with readers from around the world.

Book Two: Under Pressure

As all of this unfolded, I was mired in self-doubt about book two. It follows Elizabeth, Mary, and Jane Grey in the aftermath of Edward VI’s death when the English crown is up for grabs and the first English queens are about to take the throne. It’s a story about powerful women, about religion being used as a weapon, and about what it’s like when your sister believes you’re a heretic who should be burned at the stake. (Yikes!)

I loved the first draft I wrote, about a reluctant rebel version of Elizabeth who has to reckon with her privilege and learn how to stand up for what she believes in—even if that means risking her position or her life. (Spoiler: Elizabeth is a lot like me.)

But my agent and editor felt it was too slow. Too soft. So I added more drama—assassination plots, jousting tournaments, intrigue, betrayal, beheadings galore! I made Elizabeth more active, more sure of herself and her beliefs from the start. And still, one or two of the people who read early versions said, “I liked it, but not as much as book one.”

And wow is that punch-in-the-gut feedback to get. Because I can’t replicate book one. I can only be worse or better. And I can’t control which way readers will lean.

I’d always heard that sophomore novels are incredibly difficult to write, and now I understand why. I’ve never felt such creative constraint, nor so much doubt and fear.

Sneak Peek

I’ve just finished draft one million (pretty sure that’s right). And I still like it. I’m still proud of what it says about women and history and politics, just as I was about HTMD. So here I am deciding to love this book again, because it is mine, and if I don’t love it, no one else can.

To read the tiniest, unedited, not-final, unsanctioned-by-my-editor first look at the first chapter of Hellebore Sisterhood Book Two (which does have a title, head to my Substack: https://jillianlaineauthor.substack.com