#289: Paul Millerd — The Truth About Traditional Publishing (And The Deal He Would’ve Taken)

2026-01-13

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Paul Millerd is the author of The Pathless Path, which has earned Paul $325,000 in royalties to date. In the process, Paul turned down a publishing offer from Penguin, one of the major publishers in the industry. Then, in December, Paul decided to double down and produce a new version of The Pathless Path, an ultra-premium hardcover book that is just beautiful. So in this episode, we talk about that decision, the dark side of traditional publishing, the book deal Paul WOULD have taken, and when traditional publishing actually makes sense. → Get The N...

Paul Millerd is the author of The Pathless Path, which has earned Paul $325,000 in royalties to date. In the process, Paul turned down a publishing offer from Penguin, one of the major publishers in the industry. Then, in December, Paul decided to double down and produce a new version of The Pathless Path, an ultra-premium hardcover book that is just beautiful.

So in this episode, we talk about that decision, the dark side of traditional publishing, the book deal Paul WOULD have taken, and when traditional publishing actually makes sense.

→ Get The New Hardcover Pathless Path

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Full transcript and show notes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Paul's Website / Twitter

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TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Intro

(05:53) Why He Self-Published

(08:01) Designing Books Beyond the Obvious

(13:13) Money Isn't A Reason to Write

(16:54) Book's Success and New Opportunities

(20:30) Rejecting Penguin

(22:00) Redefining Self-Publishing Potential

(25:00) Author Rights and Publishing Deals

(30:29) Reviving Unpublished Books

(31:33) Publishing Challenges and Opportunities

(37:11) Write a Book You Love

(39:38) Inside The Pathless Path Hardcover

(43:02) Overcoming Doubts, Achieving Success

(46:23) Inspired by Steel Brothers

(48:43) Direct Sales for Higher Margins

(53:04) Amazon Book Bundling Limitations

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