That’s right: free. It used to cost $25, but now it’s free. In fact, I heard a rumour that anyone who paid the $25 might actually be reimburse for their trouble. But I can’t find this information online, so perhaps…you’ll have to wait and see.

When anyone publishes their book through CreateSpace, a Print on Demand company owned by Amazon, they have the option of getting their books into stores other than Amazon. This is not the brick and mortar store but the online catalogue of these stores.

In other words, if someone wants your book, they can search the online catalogues of Chapters/Indigo or Barnes & Noble and order it. There’s other book stores as well, but those are the two I’m most familiar with.

This used to cost $25 per book. Not long ago (like the last week or two), CreateSpace announced this fee would no longer apply. Both books newly published and those previously published can opt in for expanded distribution and get if for free. So if you have books available through CreateSpace, take a minute and add your book to these expanded distribution channels.

It takes from six to eight weeks to get your book listed in various places. If you do it now, they might be listed just in time for Christmas, when gift card holders will be searching for something to read.

There are limits placed on books for expanded distribution. If you provide your own ISBN, you cannot opt in to have your book distributed to Libraries and Academic Institutions. You can however list it with Chapters and Barnes & Noble.

Size also matters. Your book must be industry standard for the Bookstores and Online Retailers to get it. If the inside paper colour is cream, it must be either 5″ x 8″, 5.25″ x 8″, 5.5″ x 8.5″ or 6″ x 9″.

For more information on expanded distribution and the specifications for each market, check out CreateSpace.

UPDATE: Art Burton (author of Concealed from Sight) just wrote to share his email from CreateSpace with me (Thanks, Art). It reads: We’re excited to announce Expanded Distribution is now free!

You recently purchased the Expanded Distribution for one or more of your books within the past six weeks. As a courtesy, we’d like to issue you a refund of $25 for each book recently enabled through Expanded Distribution.

Your Expanded Distribution and other channel selections for your book will not be affected by this change.

Your refund should be processed within ten business days or less. It will appear as a credit on your next credit card or banking statement within the next three weeks. Multiple refunds will be processed and appear as individual refunds in your account.

If you have already received a refund for this purchase, you will not be refunded twice. If the card used for this purchase has expired or been canceled since your purchase, we will mail you a check for this refund and send a confirmation message once mailed.

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Do you want to self-publish a book? Does self-publishing look too complicated and confusing? It does to everyone when they first begin their journey, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.

If you can use a computer, you can publish your own book. To learn more, visit Diane’s Self-publishing Consultation.