Handmade Jewelry: On Craftgawker

Show case Handmade Jewelry from Malaysia

It’s been a long time since I posted anything on craftgawker, too many things going on and I practically stop visiting the website since the last time they took the site go under maintenance. I’ve posted two images today and got them all approved in less than an hour, woot! It used to take about 2 working days before my submission got approved! I guess there might be some slight change of policies.

And the reason why I’ve thought of craftgawker again was I’ve read from USA Today from my iPhone recently and the news said the United State was having Christmas Sales in July, i.e. last month, so I thought perhaps us artisan handmade jewelry field should start collecting inspirations for Christmas craft. Well I am not sure about you but if I found myself in need of being inspired, I go craftgawker. They have wide range of craft collections and they only approve pretty pictures, and they don’t just focus on handmade jewelry (which is good) they covers practically anything about craft. That feeds me pretty well. So if you are looking for inspirations of art and craft, craftgawker is the place you should visit, I feel happy seeing pretty pretty pictures and most importantly, they are all craft related.

To see the two items I have posted and approved by craftgawker:

Wired Chinese Knot – Lacey Earrings for Bride, item ID #16867

Silver ROSE Ring by Anya, item ID #16880

 

Have fun viewing – and congratulations to the rest of people that have their craft pictures approved, thanks for the eyes candies!

Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Handmade Jewelry – Dream Catcher Earrings, Wire Jewelry

 

This is a long overdue post! Click on the images to enlarge!

I fell in love with this dream catcher, a handmade jewelry by Zyta the moment I’ve seen it in Jewelry Lessons, I contacted her right away to get her permission to feature her jewelry in my blog, she was very supportive and had been corporative!

She made a DreamCatcher Earrings to add into her Handmade Wire Jewelry Making profile.

I know what dreamcatcher is, but I have zero knowledge with it’s background. All I have been taught about is that dreamcatchers are to catch bad dreams, from Wikipedia, it says:

“Bad dreams would stay in the net, disappearing with the light of day. Good dreams would pass through and slide down the feathers to the sleeper.”

And here’s the description of this pair of Earrings by Zyta:

“The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams, while letting positive dreams through. The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center of the dream catcher, and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below. The negative dreams would get caught up in the web, and expire when the first rays of the sun struck them.

The dream catcher has been a part of Native American culture for generations. One element of Native American dream catcher relates to the tradition of the hoop. Some Native Americans of North America held the hoop in the highest esteem, because it symbolized strength and unity. Many symbols started around the hoop, and one of these symbols is the dream catcher.”

I specifically like how Zyta constructed the net with wires and then attached to the wire-frames, and those blue turquoises really stands out didn’t they? Too bad I don’t have a picture of it on a clean background (but the current background for this picture is so beautiful!!! Look at that blue sky!!!!), here’s another picture I thought could show clearer image of the creation:

I wonder where she got those feathers from? Where? Zyta? :P

To hunt Zyta down, visit her at following websites, she sell all these handmade jewelleries there:

www.zyta.sklepna5.pl
www.zyta.com.pl
www.zyta.etsy.com

 

It’s Sunday, and I am sleeping in today. I hope you will have a relaxing and enjoyable Sunday too!

Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

PROMOTION: Wire Jewelry Tutorial, BUY ONE FREE ONE

 

 

~~~ LIMITED TIME OFFER ONLY: THE CRAZY WIRE JEWELRY TUTORIAL SALE IS BACK!!! ~~~~

Wire Jewelry Tutorial Promotion – BUY ONE GET ONE FREE!!!

When: NOW.

Duration: Limited time only – but it is yet to be determined!

Where: de Cor’s Handmades @ Etsy, ArtFire, and Official Website (WCNBOGO and PBSBOGO)

Condition: Buy One Wire Jewelry Tutorial and Get Another Wire Jewelry Tutorial of equal value or lesser!

If you wish to learn more about wire jewelry making other than traditional wire wrapping technique, to make your very own wire weaving jewelry such as making your own bracelet, earrings, rings, pendant or necklace, or find out how to use your wire wrapping supplies to provide a luxurious handmade jewelleries, using precious metal or craft wires to learn jewelry design, then you should take advantage of this promotion.

I have screen captured how this work on my Instant Download Website, so that you won’t need to wait for me to deliver your tutorials to you, here’s the scenario, assuming you would like to purchase DCH016, DCH017, DCH008 and DCH011, all we can do here is to group them into 2 orders: DCH016 and DCH017 as a group, and DCH008 and DCH011 as another group. The total amount due is going to be USD$15 instead of original price, USD$30.

Step 1: Register and then login to http://de-cors.com

Step 2: Visit Wired Chinese Knot Series BOGO item.

Step 3: Group Check-out DCH016 and DCH017 (Please note that the system does not check if you have choose two same items as one BOGO group, so please help the us to help you - ensure your choice carefully!):

a) For WCNBOGO: First Item: [Choose DCH016].

b) For WCNBOGO: FREE Item: [Choose DCH017].

c) Click on Add to Cart button.

Step 4: On Cart Contents page, verify your items and then click on Shop More button.

Step 5: This will bring you back to the overall catalogue page. Click on Add To Cart button for Wire Chinese Knot Series BOGO item.

 

Step 6: Group Check-out DCH008 and DCH011 (Please note that the system does not check if you have choose two same items as one BOGO group, so please help the us to help you - ensure your choice carefully!):

a) For WCNBOGO: First Item: [Choose DCH008].

b) For WCNBOGO: FREE Item: [Choose DCH011].

c) Click on Add to Cart button.

 

Step 7: On Cart Contents page, verify your order and click on Check Out button.

 

Step 8: On Check Out page, click on Confirm Order button.

 

You will then land on PayPal payment page, you can view the rest of steps in de Cor’s FAQ page, and once PayPal is done processing your payment, a download link will be made available for each of your item selected/ purchased. Click on Download button and SAVE them locally instead of opening them directly – unless you have Adobe Acrobat Professional installed.

 

And this is the listing for Project Base Series – it is pretty much the same as Wired Chinese Knot Series BOGO, just that for this listing both First and FREE items are tutorials from Project Base Series Wire Jewelry Tutorials.

Have fun! And I hope you like the promotion!

Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Wired Chinese Knot: Version 2 - Knotted Oval Lace Earrings for Wedding, Prototype

 

[Click on the images to enlarge]

This is a continued post from Wired Chinese Knot: Knotted Oval Lace Earrings for Wedding, Prototype.

Constructing Unique Luxurious Handmade Wired Chinese Knot Jewelry for Wedding
The first version involved wire weaving on both sides of the jewelry to hold the in-loop curls, although I’ve added 8 round Swarovski Crsytal Pearls the shape is not steady. I was supposed to show it to the client but she was away from home for the weekend, and because I was on the roll I decided to move on to working on improving it without gathering feedback first. As I was tying those knots (with a-hem, lots of love) one after another, I thought may be I should instead of tying different sizes of the knots let’s see what will turn out if all knots are in same size.
The inner frame was initially - “U” shape, but it just doesn’t go well with same sized knots; I changed it to “V” frame – ahah! I love it almost immediately already.

Let the Bride Choose Her Jewelry
I only manage to catch my client after I’ve came up with Version 2, and she couldn’t decide, she thought she likes Version 1’s ‘U’ inner shape more, I told her to go home and think about it and we will talk again the next day. If she decided that she didn’t like Version 2 then we will figure out something else. And again, I didn’t wait for her to make decision, I thought if her choice was Version 1 then I would better off having some solution for the flaws I’ve discovered making Version 1. So on the same night itself I worked out Version 3 – an improved version from Version 1, adding additional wires to stay put the shape, sturdier, and more balanced in shape.

Click on the images to enlarge:

Decided Her Jewelry
“We decided that we like Version 2.” She told me the next day.
The rest are history. :)

Feedback are PRICELESS!!!
To help building up her confident, I even ran Vote and Poll in few places to gather feedback, and here's some of them:

Marianne 'Marika' S: I agree, I like the second one better...BUT The first one is still gorgeous!
Shay S: If I had to choose, I'd say #2 :)
Cynthia C: Ok, here's my weird answer... (LOL) I loved the u-shape interior in the first version, but I like the rest of the earring better on the second version. If I had to choose one, it would be ver2.

Krista F: version 2 because I love how the intricate the work is but they are both beautiful
Kerckhof: Version 2. The shape is more outlined with the pearls border and the wire in the center of the earring. The shape looks stronger and more defined.

Wendy S: version 2!

Rita G: I love version 2, is elegant and beautiful!!
Susan M S: Cora, they are both lovely. Like version 2 just a little better. It shows off the intricate work better. Version 1 is nice as well, but the intricate work, while still there, appears to blend into the design instead of pop.
Val L: My first reaction is that I like version 2 better, but I really like the top of version 1 and how the wire comes down and curls instead of coming up from the bottom on version 1.
Florence W: do you sell tutorials? (Yes I do sell tutorials, Florence!!!)

Dana H: Love them both but loving version 2 a bit more for all the same reasons as everyone else :)

Olga S-R: they are both beautiful but version 2 looks more antique....
Kim A: Both are gorgeous, but I like #2

[More comments can be viewed from de Cor’s Handmades fanpage.]

And here are some from Jewelry Forum:

khittenheart: I like v2 better; somehow the V shape seems to flow smoothly.
Nancy: They're all gorgeous but I like the V-shaped one the best.
Shae: Hi Corra~They are all very beautiful. But, I was almost instantly drawn to the one that V's in the center. So I will have to go with that one! I will say, I like the woven sides on the 1st and last versions. I think it gives it a nice finished look. But, I really like the V center & the small stone in the center. Could you mix them together? hahaha ;) Very Lovely Work! Shae :)
peridot60: Version 2 is my favourite, but I agree with Shae about the woven sides. Maybe it's time for version 4?
Mary: Wow, that's a tough one... I like the "V" a lot, but there's a lot to be said for the "U". If I were shopping, I'd probably go for the "V". Hope that helps - there both incredible!
gw1008: Absolutely brilliant! I, too, like the V -- as it currently is, without woven sides. Very classy.
Georgette: What technique did you use to fill in the space between the frame? Crochet? It's a very unique piece. Thanks for showing it! (It is Wired Chinese Knot Georgette!!! :D )
Becky: I actually like the taperof the woven upper frame in V1 best.
Martine: Hi Corra,They are all gorgeous but I think my favorite is number 2. I like the shape and balance of the design and the tiny sparkly stone adds an anchor and a focal point. On saying that, I like them all!
wiggo29: wow you have done it again, you always make amazing things!!!!! I vote for V2. i think it is sexy and super stylish!
Elena: I like the one that the middle
WW: Hi, Corra, This is a really pretty design and IMHO well worth pursuing. Because you asked, here is my own 2-5 cents worth. I, too, am drawn to the "V" shape in version 2 which echoes the "V" shape on the bottom. Further, by adding yet another "V"-like shape at the top of the piece and integrating this into a bail connection of some variety would complete the design. You would then have the magic odd number of shapes (V-shapes x 3) repeated in the design and the eye would then flow from the "v"s of the bottom, back up to the pretty pearl surrounded by the "v" shape at the top and therefore, keeping the eye traveling throughout the design.
In addition, the weave on v#3 on the upper sides adds another layer of texture while contrasting with the "tangled?" weave on the bottom (I cannot quite tell which weave from the photos). Some would say, however, that keeping the same weave throughout the design encourages continuity. Personal taste here.
One question: was the stability factor that you mentioned with v#1 solved in the later versions? Anyway, this is a really pretty piece and I am looking forward to the finished product. Thank you for sharing and thank you for the opportunity to share in your design process.

kit___: While I like all three versions. I like version 2 with the "V" the best. I also like 3, the detail in the center is very nice.
fluffe1980: Version 2 for me :)
flake82: They all are very beautiful but I like V2 a bit more.
Christine: Hi Corra, Once again gorgeous work. I am drawn to #2 because of the shape and I like how the netting goes all the way to the bottom of the V giving it a complete look. Beautiful!
Gwynettekea: I had a hard time. My computer wouldn't let me see the 4th one enlarged and only held of the 3rd one.
I was drawn to the one with the V and with the extra detail up the side. I liked the U also but lean a little more to the v and how its followed through in the technique.
Lisa: I am drawn to the V in the middle. #2 is beautifully made (as all of them) but it catches my eye more quickly than the others. Excellent work Corra. Really beautiful and elegantly done. :oD

 
Oh man, only if you know how thankful I am to hear feedback from you all, you guys are amazing!!! For someone being obsessed with whatever she is creating or created, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your constructive feedback and contribution, I couldn’t have asked for more! :)
Will keep you posted with the progress! :)

Update: Bridal SilverLace Earrings Tutorial is now available for download.

~ Do good stuff, and ADD VALUE to your customers!~
Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Wired Chinese Knot: Knotted Oval Lace Earrings for Wedding, Prototype

Happy Monday all, a greeting from MALAYSIA!

 

This is a new design to add into my collection! I am wearing it so that the customer know how does it look like on human ear!

Wired Chinese Knots to deliver the lacey fancy effect, oval shape with sharp bottom, a little bit of wire weaving on top. This is a prototype piece for a soon-to-be bride in October 2010, the design is not finalized yet, I would definitely welcome constructive feedback!

Those pearls are in pink color, because this is for the evening session; I am fine with adorning this pair of earrings with white pearls too, her call. :)

P/S As I am posting these pictures I already worked out an improved version of it, also gathered some feedback, that said, check back soon for the improved version later, and check back again soon for the finalized (finger crossed) version. I want to try to achieve the goal by end of this week. :P

Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Handmade Wire Jewelry: Silver ROSE Ring

 

I have got this Handmade (handcrafted) Wire Jewelry Silver Rose Ring on Monday (or Tuesday) and had been waiting for weekend to come – so that I could put on some make up (very very light one I promise!) and then go ahead featuring this pretty, precious, luxurious Silver Rose Ring. Ahem alright – it’s not made with silver wires, they are Artistic Wires, its by request though cause I didn’t want it to go through the tarnishing process, I’d prefer it to stay white shining, but Anya do offer them with Sterling Silver Wires (92.5) and Fine Silver Wires (99.9), if you are interested in getting one for yourself you will have to drop her an E-mail for quotation. :)

So this is mine – weigh 18.7gram, 4cm diameter, absolutely gorgeous for formal outing. My own Mum, brothers and hubby shows appreciation towards this ring and the fire in their eyes made me so jealous, but I manage to get over the jealousy very quickly!!! Well, what do you expect? I am a human too afterall! I’ve brought this to work on the next day after receiving to show off to the girls in office, 3 of my colleagues immediately placed their orders, and the story didn’t end there, I introduced this new talent to one of my regular customer, of whom appreciate intricate creations, she too placed an order that day itself. So total of 4 orders in just one day, bravo, Anya.

It’s a lovely weekend and I gotta buck up on my custom orders, so check back when you can!

Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Off Topic: Langkawi

This was somewhat a last minute holiday deal to me, I didn’t expect the company will make it happen in time though it was the same old same old – went to the beach again. It’s annoying that I have finally became fairer, just in time for another outing at beach side.

 

Place: Langkawi, Malaysia.

What is it’s specialties?

Tax-free alcohol, cigarettes and chocolates, Eagles (yes you heard me right) and lot’s of Sun.

 

We went for holiday auto car hire when we were there – and there were police everywhere, 3 colleagues caught not having seat belt on, the supposedly penalty would be RM300 fine per person, police asked for RM100 so that he would issue just ONE ticket, the whole thing settled by buying the police 4cups of coffee from Starbucks, no tickets were issued.

That’s quite common in this country so If you were to travel there and if you are stopped by police, regardless if you have violated any rules, just turn on your phone’s video camera, it’s very likely they are going to offer you some “great” deal, and if they really do it you could just confront them and tell them that you have already recorded down whatever he said and done, tell them it is smarter if they would just let you go. But don’t get me wrong – I am not encouraging you to endanger your life by violating rules on purpose, I just didn’t like cops that doesn’t do what they supposed to do that’s all.

 

Here’s some photos – I didn’t bring my camera, cause there were more than half of the colleagues brought theirs, you guys should see how people filled up the luggage space – 50% filled with DSLR and another 50% filled by alcohol.

  

 

Photo #1: Boys on the beach.

Photo #2: Sea Sun Sky and boats!

Photo #3: Me & the best dressed dude.

Photo #4: Me & company’s sweetie-pie.

 

Photos courtesy by WO. G.

 

I hope you get your fair share of Sun for your summer too. :)

Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Wired Chinese Knot – Perfectionist’s playtime

This is the close up shot of the new Knot of Perfectionist – like I said, too much flaw so I had to add some photo effect to hide them, and it's all done with that online photo editor, nothing needs to be installed! :P
Well I am not sure if they have added new featured to their online graphic editor but I was having fun of it. One good thing about being a “tester” you can just go ahead and tell the developer “I want this”, “I want that”, “It is not navigating properly”, “do you have this feature in placed?”, “this feature is redundant”, “THAT FEATURE PISS ME OFF!!!”, “I AM ANGRY!!!”.

LOL!!!!

So fun!!!

But that is exactly what had happened. Designing an application is just like designing jewelry, you know what is best for you and for you only - you will never able to predict what is good enough for other people. You thought your client is hard to please - You don’t know what they want, most of the time they don’t know what they want, you try, they tell you what they don’t like about it, but they are still not sure what they like, you keep trying, they keep seeing what they don’t like…

That is the reason why the taste of success is so great! Spotting the right taste of your client is like pressing the right button, once you have gained their trust you just continue to current standard and, when possible, give them more – introduce them new excitements and try them with your new concepts, remember - they already are UNIQUE, all you have to do or CAN do, is to add value to them. Be nice to your client because - with the same amount of money they could have gotten themselves something “perfect”, problem is it is not customized, not UNIQUE, not entirely theirs – they come to you for one reason and one reason only, that’s you Ace, protect it. :)

Related Posts:

Wired Chinese Knot – The Perfectionist


Wired Chinese Knot – Unofficial brochure

It’s Friday, go have fun!
Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Custom Book Publishing to Apple iBookStore

 

Tada!!!

I have finally finalized a eBook Cover template for custom book publishing and listed this service in Etsy!

 

Like I said having a pretty, clean, timeless and presentable cover for your book is critical, why?

Because, when you are selling electronic products such as book or software that’s to be delivered or downloaded digitally over internet, without having a chance to convince or promote your product to your customers, according to research, you only have TWO seconds to secure your sale. Yes, nothing more than that golden TWO seconds, if you get their attention and at the same time delivered the message of what you are selling to them in that two seconds, chances are they would stop and flip your pages – to see your product descriptions or probably, check out who you are.

 

The cover design is the make or break of the deal, period.

Like I said in the previous blog post, that I have conducted an unofficial survey to gather feedback from people that’s in various area, including IT professionals that would spend their lunch hour surfing the net buying stuff from ecommerce website than going out for a social lunch), financial analyst whom get excited in seeing the bank notes and figures, COO and CEO of consulting firms which write and read proposals more than a highschool teacher marking student’s exam papers, a 3 years old that would only jump when he sees Barney the purple dinosaur...

And this is the most acceptable cover so far!

Who owns the copyright of the cover
By engaging this service you will be the sole copyright owner of the created cover(s).

How do I start:
1. Submit your original eBook cover image (or you might take this opportunity to change your eBook cover page)
2. Submit me your logo image
3. Wait for less than 24 hours
4. Finalize and confirm your cover design in within 3 revisions. (Check the sample covers I have shown in this listing)

THAT IS IT!!! You will be the owner of the cover image I have created for you, and you are free to use them for your eBOOK cover no matter where you publish it - Be it in Etsy, ArtFire, Smashwords and iBookStore(Apple).

 

Here’s some examples!!!

Special thanks to Anya and Gene for contributing Rosalie Ring picture LazziKittie picture respectively for demonstrations, they both now have the cover image (without the SAMPLE stamp) for their future usage. :)

And please, take a look at how my craft eBooks look like on iPad’s iBook shelves:

Lovely, isn’t it? :)

Hope to see your book on Apple soon!

 

Corra @ de Cor’s Handmades

Wired Chinese Knot – Silver ROSE Studs and Pendant

This set of jewelry are result of combination of Wired Chinese Knotting with Wire Weaving. :)

Wired Chinese Knot ROSE Studs:

The ROSE focal is made up with two Wired Chinese Knotting, and the base is composed with basic Wire Weaving technique. 

Wired Chinese Knot ROSE Pendant:

A slight twist from the ROSE studs in becoming a ROSE pendant, that I won’t lie. Hehe. When the order came in the reference item used was CZ ROSE Pendant Build 7.0 finalized in April 28, 2009. Client said the owner didn’t like the coils, and would like it to changed to be the same base as stud. I said no problem, of course.

Design Background/ History:

I made the very first pair of ROSE studs in January 15, 2010, while prototyping Christine’s earrings in January 2010, finalized in February 2010, and have been receiving orders for ROSE studs since. I can’t remember how many pairs of ROSE studs I have made and sold, but as of now I am still spending 7 hours to construct a ROSE stud no less. There are too much details to take care of – the studs base’s measurement, the weaving path, setting the focal, hiding the wires tails and adjusting those petals.

To make these Silver ROSEs, you need to combine two instructions delivered by Rosabella +  Rose

Related Blog Posts that you might be interested:

• Oh my poor fingers: ROSE Stud {Colour Mixing}
• Rose Stud with CZ
• Revised – Rose Surrounded by Diamond Cuts CZ Stones, Studs
• 張三丰的智慧

 

Have you ever had a moment like this, that when you are focusing on making your design, you make them full-hearted and 100% of your concentration… When done, you found that you can’t take your eyes off it…
I have a dream – that one day I will create my design with precious, precious metal that shall not tarnish, that would not fade. Instead of Cubic Zirconias, it will be Diamonds, instead of Sterling Silver, it will be Platinum, or Rose Gold – to match the name “rose”.

Hmm…
Perhaps I should reposition the whole thing.
I shall set it as a “Goal”, instead of thinking it as a “dream”. :)

Wish you have a wonderful week ahead.





Corra @ de Cor's Handmades

Wire Jewelry Tutorial on iBookStore through Smashwords, Wired Chinese Knot Series

1st August 2010 is significant to me!!! My book got shipped on 30th July 2010 by Smashwords and I have been tabbing on iPad to see if it shows up on the catalog since – and today I found it!!! Check this!!! Type “Jewelry” and you will see me!!! (Click to enlarge the image)

Nothing is cooler than this! Internet publishing has now become THE next thing you going to do, because:

1. 2 Billions people go internet as of 30th June 2010.
2. 2 Millions iPADs sold under 2 months.

I sincerely thinks that iPAD is changing people’s lifestyle these days – the reading habit is making a come back after a whole good decade. You have no idea how I’ve missed seeing people “read” in train or train station. They have got their earplugs on too long, it’s time to go back to reading. Steve Job had moved the world, IMHO.

Though Amazon just released the 2nd generation of Kindle Reading device - smaller, lighter, prettier, and CHEAPER. Just that it is black and white. I am not sure how my eBook would look on Kindler though. Mine has lots of colorful pictures!

So when my husband got his iPad – the first thing go on to my to-do list was to convert my eBooks into ePUB format. I know I might not have the luxury of converting them all but I would really like to find out how complicated it can get. To be honest since this thing was completely new to me, I have have gone through whole lot of hassle making things work – first trying to convert my book directly from PDF to ePUB format – please, don’t do that, it’s horrible. Then, I tried converting .doc format to ePUB – simply painful. None of them worked, the direct conversion pretty much ruined my eBooks, so I stopped converting and go back to “studying”. And since I am getting a new computer, I figured I might as well get a Mac, and will it be too crazy for you to know that I even bought a MacBook Pro partly for this? Not to mention the cost of using Adobe InDesign and the time I used to learn how to operate it – oh by the way, InDesign produces best ePUB though! You just have to keep trying. Er wait, I made this sound too difficult didn’t I? That’s because I am trying to convert a eBook with loads of PICTURES into ePub!!! It is DIFFERENT from converting plain text document!!! The latter is much much much much much simpler!!!!

Anyway – back to getting my book on iBookstore. There are some pre-requisites you have to fulfill before you can put your book on there, you need to have United States’ tax ID (A-r-r-o-g-a-n-t, tsk tsk tsk.), then, you need an ISBN for your book. Then, convert your book into Microsoft Office Word 2007 format, lastly, upload it to Smashwords. I made a mistake not reading Smashwords’ instruction carefully – they only take .doc, so there is no point for me to learn to convert my book into ePub format, but I am glad I took the hard route, simply because, like I said, InDesign produces best ePUB, and I have got that skill now. The converter on Smashwords is decent, but there are limitations. So today if you are purchasing my books through Smashwords or iBookstore, the ePUB format is decent, readable, with just a slight limitations, whereas if you get it off my official site (I will be adding ePUB format as and when I got them converted), you will be having the version that’s converted using InDesign. They all shares the same content so you are not missing out.

To publish a book to iBookStore, here some tips to help you start – First, all our cover pictures are in landscape layout – you need to make a portrait layout of it, and make sure it look professional and cool  - Check the screenshot I took right after downloading the book sample, not too bad huh? I like that clean and steady look very much, and for your information, I have spent 2 weeks gathering feedbacks from people just for the cover design – ranges from IT professional to finance analysts and company CIO, COO, it does look professional doesn’t it? Take care of your cover otherwise it won’t even catch anyone’s eyes, so if you plan to do what I just di - make sure you do the same thing I did – your book can wait, taking 2 weeks to wait for feedback is all worthwhile! Here we go tour around iBookStore, after you found my book on the catalog, touch on the icon and following pop up shown – introducing you my book:

Then, you can totally buy the book right away, or, download the book sample for FREE. Say, let’s touch (I almost said “click”) on the GET SAMPLE button, next thing you know is – my book shows up beautifully on your bookshelves!

Note to take: Apple decides percentage of your book for sampling – the only way to control it is to play around with the number of pages of your whole book, the more pages you have got the more pages will be made into sampling version, I personally think it’s a damn cool idea)I provide following services if you are interested to get your book onto Apple market.

Last but not least – if you would allow me, I am offering following services if you are interested:
Service ONE: Create a professional looking book cover (similar to mine) for your eBook.

• You will be the owner of the created cover’s copyright. All you need to do is send me your original copy of cover image.
• Price: $15 (3 revisions) per cover.

Service TWO: Convert your existing published eBook into an acceptable format by Smashwords convertor.

• Smashword convertor will then convert it into ePUB format for you when you publish your book(s) through them. Please don’t do this if you don’t trust me with your tutorial content. I will provide you instructions on how and where to upload your tutorial(s) in Microsoft Word format together with your images.
• Price: US$5 consultation fee, and then US$20 per hour for actual book conversion task.
• The consultation fee is not refundable – at this stage you send in your existing eBook ONLY, and I will quote you exactly how many hours I will take to convert your book, so that you know what you are getting yourself into.
• If you agreed with the my proposal then I will create a listing for you to check out (with $5 rebate that you have paid for consultation), and then I will send you the instructions on how we should start.
• You own 100% copyright on the book that I have converted (of course), all materials will be sent back to you, and you have my word for destroying whatever raw materials you have sent me. If in the future your book got stolen – it is not me, and if you don’t think you can trust me on that, don’t engage my service.
• BONUS: Your cover get created for FREE.

Service THREE: Convert your existing published eBook into ePUB format

• The ePUB format will be ready for you to distribute right away. Again, Please don’t do this if you don’t trust me with your tutorial content. I will provide you instructions on how and where to upload your tutorial(s) in Microsoft Word format together with your images.
• Price: $5 consultation fee, and then $25 per hour for actual book conversion task.
• The consultation fee is not refundable – at this stage you send in your existing eBook ONLY, and I will quote you exactly how many hours I will take to convert your book, so that you know what you are getting yourself into.
• If you agreed with the my proposal then I will create a listing for you to check out (with $5 rebate that you have paid for consultation), and then I will send you the instructions on how we should start. 
• You own 100% copyright on the book that I have converted (of course), all materials will be sent back to you, and you have my word for destroying whatever raw materials you have sent me. If in the future your book got stolen – it is not me, and if you don’t think you can trust me on that, don’t engage my service.
• BONUS: Your cover get created for FREE.
• BONUS TWO: There is no bonus #2. Creating a format that Smashwords will take and creating ePUB format is two entirely different thing, both require equivalent time and effort respectively. Soweee!

So, I will see ya all on iBookStore soon! :D
Now - Do good stuff, add value to your customers!


Category: Wired Chinese Knot
Corra @ de Cor's Handmades