Hachette Book Group has a new social networking app that lets authors and publishers share book chapters via Facebook. The ChapterShare app launches today with exclusive excerpts from chapters of James Patterson’s upcoming novel NYPD Red which comes out in October, as well as Michael Connelly’s The Black Box which is slated for a November release.

In order to gain access to the content, Facebook users must “Like” the content. Then readers can read these chapters on the author’s Facebook page. And if they like what they read, they can preorder a book from the Facebook page by clicking on icons for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks or Indiebound. Readers are also encouraged to share the link to the sample chapters with their Facebook friends.

HBG’s Chief Operating Officer Ken Michaels stated: “Publishing is evolving from a B2B business to a B2C business, and apps like ChapterShare allow us to connect directly with consumers. Publishers need to become application developers in order to connect writers and readers more closely. We saw a need for an application that could unlock more of Facebook’s power for writers and used our unique publishing expertise and systems to build it.”