Hachette to trial book sales via Twitter

9 December 2014 Books+Publishing

In the US, Hachette will sell a limited number of its titles directly through Twitter in partnership with ecommerce venture Gumroad, reports Publishers Weekly. From 11 December, three books will be available to purchase through the social media platform: The Art of Asking (Amanda Palmer), You Are Here (Chris Hadfield) and The Onion Magazine: The Iconic Covers That Transformed an Undeserving World. The titles will be available for sale through a direct buy link embedded in authors’ tweets, which enables customers to make a purchase without leaving the Twitter platform. Only a limited number of copies will be made available, and each will come with a ‘special bonus’, such as ‘a manuscript page with notes by, among others, [Palmer’s] husband, novelist Neil Gaiman’ to accompany The Art of Asking. Hachette Book Group CEO Michael Pietsch said ‘Gumroad’s success working with music labels and artists to enable sales to fans, and their partnership with Twitter, put them at the forefront of social media commerce’. A Hachette spokesperson said the program will be expanded if it is successful.

Category: International news