Amazon removes pre-order buttons in battle with publisher Hachette

The online retailer, which had already been slowing delivery on a wide range of Hachette titles, has removed pre-order buttons for such books as Connelly's The Burning Room and Rowling's The Silkworm, a detective story coming out next month that she wrote under the pen name Robert Galbraith.

Previous changes had been more subtle. The listing for the paperback of JD Salinger's Nine Stories says delivery will take three to five weeks and offers "Similar items at a lower price", including a collection of Ernest Hemingway stories that were published by Scribner.

"We are doing everything in our power to find a solution to this difficult situation, one that best serves our authors and their work, and that preserves our ability to survive and thrive as a strong and author-centric publishing company," Hachette said. Later, Hachette released a more strongly worded statement, saying it was "sparing no effort and exploring all options".

Amazon declined to comment. Numerous Hachette authors have criticised Amazon in recent weeks, including Sherman Alexie and James Patterson, who on his Facebook page noted that the purchase of books written by him, Malcolm Gladwell, Nicholas Sparks and others had been made more difficult.

"What I don't understand about this particular battle tactic is how it is in the best interest of Amazon customers," Patterson wrote. "It certainly doesn't appear to be in the best interest of authors."