James Patterson tops 1 million in e-book sales; publisher says he’s 1st to reach milestone

James Patterson tops 1 million in e-book sales

NEW YORK — James Patterson’s publishing company says that he’s the first author to exceed one million sales in electronic book delivery.

The Hachette Book Group says Patterson has moved 1.14 million units of his books for devices like Kindle and the iPad. The big seller, by far, is the most recent: Patterson’s novel “I, Alex Cross,” which was published both electronically and in hardcover last fall. Since his first novel in 2007, Patterson’s books have sold more than 205 million copies.

There’s no third-party monitor of e-book sales, so Hachette used its own figures and checked other prominent authors. The publisher didn’t find any others who had cracked the million mark.

Patterson says: “If e-books get people who might otherwise not be reading to pick up a book, then that makes me happy.”