Chasing Publishing Dreams with Synthetic Prophetic
Synthetic Prophetic is a boutique literary press founded in October 2024 by professional editor Ben Obler. Ben’s goal is to provide an efficient, low-cost way to publish, print, and fulfill book orders to help new and growing authors. While his focus is on late-career writers reaching for (attainable) literary dreams, Ben’s mission is centered on storytelling.
To get his business started, he turned to Lulu Direct for WooCommerce to streamline operations. Since partnering with Lulu, Synthetic Prophetic has launched its publishing house and produced three books, with two more on the way.
Building and Launching a Publishing House Quickly
Synthetic Prophetic came when an author, whom Ben had worked with since 2021 as an editor, faced rejection from other publishing houses. Already an experienced editor and educator, Ben saw his client struggling and thought he could offer a better way. With knowledge of how print-on-demand works from his other clients, a strong sense for good literature, and a background in editing, Ben was uniquely positioned to help creators take the leap without the endless loop of rejections.
With his guidance, the first batch of Synthetic Prophetic authors has found an alternative path to publication. By fostering a collaborative environment with a small yet dedicated team (including a contracted graphic artist and authors), Synthetic Prophetic brings carefully crafted stories to life.
While Ben had helped individual authors self-publish in the past, launching a dedicated press presented new challenges. Synthetic Prophetic needed a platform that could seamlessly connect their WordPress website to a book printing and shipping solution.
That’s where Lulu’s direct sales and print-on-demand came in.
Benjamin Obler
Streamlined Fulfillment
The first and most important feature Ben needed to start his publishing house was a simple, streamlined means of creating the actual books. He was looking for a way to efficiently print and ship books that was largely hands-free to accommodate his busy teaching and editorial work.
Cost-Effectiveness
Starting a new business is usually a pricey endeavor. Ben wanted to start Synthetic Prophetic small, focusing on underserved authors. As such, he needed a very cost-effective platform for his publishing, promotion, and sales.
As a small press working with budget constraints, it was essential to find a solution offering top quality without the hefty price tag.
Avoiding Major Competitors
Finally, Ben wanted to give his clients a way to publish without relying on retailers like Amazon. This was a big issue for Ben, as he felt authors shouldn’t be beholden to big businesses and retailers who only focus on their bottom line.
Control—over the design, distribution, content, and pricing—was of the utmost importance to Ben as he sought out the right platform for Synthetic Prophetic.
Ben needed a reliable partner to simplify operations and control so he could focus on empowering his authors rather than managing logistical hurdles.
Using Lulu Direct to Publish, Print, and Fulfill
Having already used print-on-demand to help some previous clients, Ben knew a little about his options from the beginning. He opted for Lulu because of our robust ecommerce integrations and the simple publishing process.
Using Lulu Direct allowed Synthetic Prophetic, already built on WordPress, to connect an ecommerce storefront with the first run of the author’s books. The direct WooCommerce integration allowed Ben to build sales pages, set up shipping, and sell books all without any upfront cost. For a new publisher working with his first set of authors, the ease and low cost of Lulu Direct were vital to his business.
Benjamin Obler
“I loved how Lulu's interface worked seamlessly with WooCommerce, and the validation and file process made it simple to get our books to print. The fact that it wasn’t Amazon? That was the icing on the cake.”
Supporting Literary Authors
Synthetic Prophetic has already received positive reviews from institutions like the Manhattan Book Review for one of their titles, further solidifying Ben’s reputation in the literary space.
Through their partnership with Lulu Direct, Synthetic Prophetic is a prime example of how small presses can use technology to achieve big goals. By combining expert curation with streamlined book fulfillment, Ben has created a platform that doesn’t just publish stories; he’s helping fulfill dreams.
The future of Synthetic Prophetic looks exciting, with plans to open a submissions portal and produce more works outside of mainstream publishing conventions.
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