Taylor Swift has made yet another record-breaking move with the release of her official Eras Tour book, which has become the year’s most significant book launch.
According to Circana, which monitors the print market, the book sold a staggering 814,000 copies over the Thanksgiving weekend in the United States alone. The impressive sales figure came despite Swift choosing to sell the $40 (£31) book exclusively through the American supermarket chain Target, bypassing traditional publishers and major retailers like Amazon.
Swift shared the news of the book’s release on social media, aligning its debut with the conclusion of her historic Eras Tour, set to wrap up on December 8.
The Eras Tour itself has been a monumental achievement, spanning 152 dates across five continents and grossing over $1 billion (£785 million). As the highest-grossing tour ever, according to 2023 data from Pollstar, it has been a cultural phenomenon.
The book, intended as a companion to this incredible tour, chronicles Swift’s journey and her evolution through different musical eras. However, while fans rushed to grab their copies, the release was not without its hiccups, as sharp-eyed readers began noticing a range of errors that sparked widespread conversation online.
Fans, affectionately known as Swifties, quickly pointed out multiple issues with the book, including spelling mistakes, blurry images, and even printing errors. One disappointed fan took to TikTok, describing her shock at the number of grammatical mistakes she discovered in the book.
“I saw so many [errors], in fact, I am seriously questioning if this book was actually edited,” she remarked. Reflecting on the impact of these flaws, she added, “When I am reading through things, if there are certain grammar mistakes or sentence structures that are really distracting, it really takes me out of the reading experience.”
Other fans shared videos on social media, with some dubbing it the “errors book,” highlighting issues like upside-down and back-to-front pages.
Despite the backlash, some fans took a more positive view, suggesting the misprints could increase the book’s value as a collectible. “I’d rather have a few cute errors if it means Taylor was fully in control over its publishing,” one fan commented, referencing Swift’s reputation for meticulous oversight of her projects.
However, the criticism was hard to ignore, with one user on X listing eight typos, including misspelled song titles and missing punctuation. These issues have raised questions about the book’s production process, though neither Swift nor representatives from Target have addressed the concerns publicly.
The Eras Tour book’s sales cement its place in publishing history, ranking as the second-largest nonfiction book debut in the U.S., just behind Barack Obama’s presidential memoir, A Promised Land.
That book sold 816,000 copies in its first week in 2020, benefiting from availability across all major retailers. In contrast, Circana’s data for Swift’s book accounts only for its first weekend of sales through Target, making the achievement even more remarkable.
Ultimately, the mixed reception has not dampened the book’s commercial success, reflecting Swift’s immense cultural influence. As she wraps up her groundbreaking tour and prepares for the next phase of her career, the Eras Tour book serves as both a celebration of her achievements and a reminder of the challenges that come with operating outside traditional publishing systems.
For Swifties, it’s another chapter in the ever-evolving story of their favorite artist, imperfections and all.
