Former first lady Hillary Clinton's tell-all memoir Living History sold about 200,000 copies in its first day of publication.

The book's publisher Simon & Schuster on Tuesday said sales had been so brisk that it had already ordered another 300,000 copies of the book to be printed on top of the one million copies, which were printed for Monday's launch.

"We are certainly happy," Simon & Schuster spokeswoman Victoria Meyer said. "By any measure this is a huge number."

Meyer said that Simon & Schuster, which paid Clinton $8million for her memoir and hopes it will become the No 1 non-fiction title of the year, expects to increase its print run again later this week.

The sales pace of Clinton's book - which covers eight tumultuous years at the White House including president Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky and subsequent impeachment - is in the league of novelists like Tom Clancy and Stephen King, said John Baker, editorial director at Publishers' Weekly.

"It's strikingly good," Baker said, noting Clinton's book has sold much faster than the memoirs by president Ronald Reagan or his wife Nancy.

The book tells how Hillary Clinton's love for politics began with strong Republican convictions rather than the Democratic Party politics she is known for.

Barnes & Noble Inc, the world's largest bookseller, said Living History set a one-day sales record on Monday for a non-fiction book at its stores.

It shifted 40,000 copies in just 24 hours at retail stores and in online sales, the company said in a statement.

Nationwide sales figures from other booksellers were not immediately available.

Photo: Getty Images