Author serialises book through Twitter

Faber author R.N. Morris is serialising a slightly abridged version of his 2007 crime novel A Gentle Axe in bite-sized chunks via regular updates on Twitter.

Morris recently began work on the  “Twitterisation” of his book, and his Twitter">http://twitter.com/rnmorris">Twitter has around 200 followers.

Alex Holroyd, press officer at Faber, said: “His intention is to do the whole thing online, although it will depend on feedback and interest. It’s a bit of an experiment – he is already a keen blogger and has quite a presence on the net, so we are hoping it will transfer over.”

Morris updates his Twitter account “a few times a day” and followers can send him questions about the book, which he then responds to. Twitter allows followers to receive updates either online or on their mobile phone.

Holroyd said it was a useful method of “keeping his fans happy” until the next book in the series, entitled A Razor Wrapped in Silk, comes out in March 2010. “Hopefully he’ll get some new [fans] in the process,” she added.

Although there is no target number of followers, Holroyd said Faber was keeping an eye on the experiment, and would consider using Twitter to build pre-publication word-of-mouth interest in future books.

“It very much depends on the author’s time and willingness, but I don’t see why not,” she added.