• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

[Promotion] DA Ink

areteus

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Messages
2,636
Reaction score
183
Location
Manchester UK
Came across this on Goodreads yesterday.

http://daink.webs.com/authors

It looks suspicious to me, mainly because they are expecting you to sign a contract where you are told you will pay a fee 'to cover publicity costs' but there is no indication of what those fees may be. They talk about tailoring the publicity and lots of promising phrases like 'our services are free' but I am somewhat wary.

If they are legit it is a nice idea but I am currently put off by the lack of specific information and a 'contract' that does not read like any formal, legit contract I have ever looked at (and I have seen some strange ones in my time...).

Oh and in the message posted to Goodreads they promise 'at least 20 reviews' but I notice that is not in the contract shown on the link...

Any thoughts? Anyone able to do some web fu on this organisation to see who they are and what they are about?
 

Ephiny0

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 19, 2013
Messages
78
Reaction score
6
Location
London, UK
Website
sarahbyrne.org
It's...nice how they promise that they will never 'scam you' or 'forge money out of you' (in their 'new and improve contract'), though I can't help thinking a reputable company wouldn't feel they needed to say that...

It's not very clear to me what exactly they do (not helped by the poor English) or what their business model is. I don't think I'd be in a hurry to sign any contract with them, personally.
 

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
1,633
Reaction score
258
Location
Oop North
Meet the family!

The members of this family don't want to tell us their surnames:

Head Marketing Consultant: Jordan B.
Complaints and Issues Consultant: Malcolm F.
Web and Digital Designer: Don M.

They sound like frustrated authors:

Why Us?
DA Ink more than likely has been through everything you have. From reader to reader hoping someone gives you that one chance and buys your book, Well, it's not easy and many times...it makes us want to give up as writers. Here at DA Ink - we want to fix that. We want to help ease the stress of authors and writers alike.
http://daink.webs.com/about-us

If that's a typical example of their prose I'm not surprised they couldn't get published!
 

areteus

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Messages
2,636
Reaction score
183
Location
Manchester UK
Now, given the propensity for scams to self published and wannabe authors, I can understand why they may want to stress that they are not like that... but yes, I can understand what you mean, it does come across as 'no, we won't scam you, honest guv' which may not be the image they are hoping to portray...

And yes, they are not explicit about their role in this... what exactly they do for the money you will be paying them for 'publicity'. As I say, the original goodreads post promises 20 reviews at least but that is not claimed on the site (and I also think that anyone who promises a set number of reviews is usually running sock puppet accounts or paying people to basically write reviews that say what you tell them say) but they do not say how they intend to do this.

My cynical side (yes I do have more than just the cynical side, you just may not have met any of the others yet :) ) is asking 'where's the money?'. They claim that they are not taking a cut from your publicity budget but if that is the case, what is in it for them? I have a suspicion that one of the publicity methods they use is themselves and they pay themselves from your budget to do something that you could probably do yourself if you had time (like email blog owners to ask them nicely to do reviews for you). Maybe not a scam but certainly not an honestly presented service.

Just as an aside, I have no problem with the idea of paying someone a small amount to do all the boring mailing of reviewers and blog owners that is needed to get word out and I know of several people who offer that service in an honest and upfront way. I am just suspicious of requiring that someone signs a very badly worded contract before being able to view what services are being offered or even what these may cost.
 

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 4, 2010
Messages
1,633
Reaction score
258
Location
Oop North
I'm confused. So DA Ink is also a magazine?

DA Ink is a new up and coming digital magazine. We're always looking for submissions and we're always looking for hungry readers looking for their next best book.

If you want to feature your book in our new magazine, please contact us!
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7315257.DA_Ink

DA Ink is also the author of Caged: My Bullets Are Never Cherished (Unedited), published by Lulu. He wants honest reviews and set the ball rolling by giving himself five stars:

Being that I wrote the book, I can only encourage my fellow readers to give me a review with your honest opinion, it truth, it needs work and hasn't been yet edited. But other then that, I believe its a great storyline waiting to be improved.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18623557-caged

My honest opinion is that these people, whoever they are, are well-meaning but clueless.

There's more information about DA Ink here:

http://www.dainkteens.moonfruit.com/home/4580858909

Their services seem to consist mainly of advertising your book in the DA Ink magazine:

DAInk 1 *Renew - 1 Month & 2 WKS*
$10.00 (Coming soon)

Feature More Then One Book In Our Magazine :Up To Three Books
Feature One Book In Multiple Magazine Issues : Up To Three Issues
Feature Two Giveaways : Physical and Ebook Copies : Lasts Up To 12 Months
Have One Book Included In The DA Ink Store : Any and all books listed from Authors in this store are listed as .99
Feature On Our Members' Page
Advertise Book Cover and Sell Link In One Magazine : Up To Three Issues

I can't help feeling that the only people who'll know this magazine exists are other DA Ink authors.
 

Ephiny0

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 19, 2013
Messages
78
Reaction score
6
Location
London, UK
Website
sarahbyrne.org
My cynical side (yes I do have more than just the cynical side, you just may not have met any of the others yet :) ) is asking 'where's the money?'. They claim that they are not taking a cut from your publicity budget but if that is the case, what is in it for them? I have a suspicion that one of the publicity methods they use is themselves and they pay themselves from your budget to do something that you could probably do yourself if you had time (like email blog owners to ask them nicely to do reviews for you). Maybe not a scam but certainly not an honestly presented service.
.


Exactly, that's kind of what I meant about the business model. If they don't charge fees for their services, and they don't mention taking a percentage from your book sales or anything, then how do they make any money at all? Either there's more going on that they're not being upfront about, or else they really haven't thought this through at all (or quite possibly both).

I'm also confused as to why anyone would publish a book that they consider still 'needs work' and hasn't been edited yet - surely you'd look for a critique group and/or editor before you publish? I'm not very familiar with GoodReads or self-publishing though, so maybe not understanding how that works. I assume people are not expected to buy the unedited book?
 

areteus

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Messages
2,636
Reaction score
183
Location
Manchester UK
I think Alice has the measure of them above... (and sorry, Alice, I did not see your responses above until now... you must have been typing at the same time I was...). It does look as if you basically pay for them to put you in their magazine... and that is where the money is...

And yes, I would never consider publishing anything that was not fully edited at least a couple of times by crit readers, beta readers and professional editors (or at least a once over by some people I know who are very good at this English grammar malarkey :) )
 

ShaunHorton

AW's resident Velociraptor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
3,550
Reaction score
511
Location
Washington State
Website
shaunhorton.blogspot.com
DA Ink [Marketer]

This is a marketing and advertising "service".

http://daink.webs.com/

The idea is that once an author has agreed to and signed their contract, the author will work with a marketing consultant to develop a 3-month plan which fits the author's style and budget. (Although they claim to be a free program themselves.)

I came across them advertising their services on Goodreads, where in a single thread, they blamed the error of its vs. it's on spellcheck and made the comment

"And if you hadn't noticed all readers are beta-readers. Times have changed."

This seems like an obvious scam to me, but I would appreciate other, more knowledgeable people taking a look.
 

areteus

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Messages
2,636
Reaction score
183
Location
Manchester UK
I posted the same link to here a few weeks ago and the opinion was that, yes, they seemed dodgy. Mainly because they were not being clear up front what they offered or how much they charged.
 

paulcosca

The Paulest of all Coscas
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
138
Reaction score
15
Location
Missoula, MT
Website
www.paulcosca.com
I automatically distrust anything like this that can't be bothered to buy their own website. If they can't invest $100 on themselves, why invest anything with them?
 

ShaunHorton

AW's resident Velociraptor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
Messages
3,550
Reaction score
511
Location
Washington State
Website
shaunhorton.blogspot.com
Well, from a conversation on Goodreads, they now claim to be changing their name to Beastly Ink and we've actually been given the full name of Don Braxton. Though, I'm guessing the name is made up, does that sound familiar to anyone?
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,746
Location
Coastal Desert
Not finding any sign the change materialized. Member's Zone is gone, as are FB page, et al.
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,746
Location
Coastal Desert
"Relaunched" with January '15 issue, but no further activity (beyond another book up at Lulu).