Seth ’96 reconnects with Palder ’05, resulting in best-selling book on Amazon

Apprentix founder and CEO Andy Seth ’96 made an unexpected Culver connection when hiring a company to edit and help market his new book, selecting by chance a company owned by a 2005 graduate he had once taken out to dinner as a Culver student.

The book, “Apprenticeship Launch System,” written and promoted by Seth and edited by ProofreadingServices.com, founded by Luke Palder, was rated on Amazon.com as the No. 1 best-seller in the categories of human resources, higher and continuing education and management and leadership.

“I was looking for someone to help me with all of the edits, proofreading, layout, publishing, all the stuff that happens when you finish a manuscript. I went looking online and reached out to a company that looks like it provides these services. When I called and introduced myself, the response was: ‘Is this Andy Seth, CMA’96?’ ” Seth recalled.

Palder said Seth isn’t someone you forget.

“It’s a name you remember. He’s a personality in all the great ways,” Palder said.

Seth and Palder met in 2005. While Seth was a student at Culver, he had been president of the Campus Activity Board, so while visiting Culver, he took the CAB members out to Papa’s for pizza. Palder was CAB president at that time.

Palder remembers.

“Andy is a guy who likes meeting people, knowing people, never without a secondary aim,” Palder said. “He just loves Culver and loves staying in touch.”

Seth and Palder kept in touch for a bit after that meeting.

“We started to form a bit of a mentor-mentee relationship where he would update me with what was going on with him. I’d provide him some advice and guidance,” Seth said.

They lost touch after about a year, until this chance meeting.

Palder said he’s easy to find online because he owns four similar companies: MemoirGhostwriting.com, ProofreadingServices.com, TranslationServices.com and TranscriptionServices.com.

Palder said the collaboration was natural because “Culver has done the vetting for us. When you know a hundred of the same people, you’re going to make sure you do the best job that you can.”

Both described it as a great collaboration. Seth said because this is his second book he knew having trust in an editor was vital.

“Because you are basically handing them the baby of ideas and you’re asking them, ‘Can you help me grow this into something that other people will benefit from?’ ” he said.

Seth said he was excited about working with Palder’s team and confident his book was in good hands.

“I knew Luke would be looking out for me and the ideas and the concepts in a way I could bring this to life in a way that I could trust. His tean wasn’t trying to edit out my voice or edit out my ideas; they were going to enhance my work,” Seth said. “It was just an inherent trust that he was going to look out for me in this process.”

Palder described Seth as the ideal client.

“Andy is a guy who in all the best ways knows what he wants,” Palder said.

The book helps company leaders learn how to start apprenticeship programs.

“I believe in apprenticeships as one of the great pathways that our country has to helping people getting into meaningful high-paying, in-demand jobs that we can’t fill as a country,” Seth said. “We have literally millions of unfilled jobs that are in high demand, high paying, but we don't have the people. We need a way, a path for people to be able to fill those jobs.”

Seth said apprenticeships provide companies the opportunity to provide classroom theory as well as on-the-job training.

Palder’s company edited, proofread and laid out the book, as well as got the barcodes, published it on Kindle and other platforms and provided Seth with the resources to market the book.

“He walked me through every single step,” Seth said. “Luke would go way above and beyond from both timeline perspectives, services, everything he did, compared to what is industry standard. I could see his touch all over, basically making sure I got the full white-glove treatment. That includes multiple rounds of revisions, even small nuances around typesetting that were preferences. He just accommodated so many of my stylistic choices and preferences. I knew I could trust him to give him that and he would run with it and not push back on it.”

Seth said he hopes his story might encourage other Culver graduates to want to meet Culver students and possibly take them out for a meal.

“It was really cool that Luke and I were able to work together and have that bond from back in the day,” Seth said.