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

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Jan 13, 2026

Guest

Paul Millerd

Paul Millerd, author of The Pathless Path and self-publishing advocate, reveals the secrets behind his book's success, having made $325,000 in royalties. He discusses why he opted for self-publishing over a deal with Penguin, highlighting the importance of author rights and the challenges of traditional publishing. Millerd also shares insights on creating an ultra-premium hardcover edition and the advantages of direct sales for higher margins. His journey speaks to the evolving landscape of the publishing industry and the power of creative independence.

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ANECDOTE

Unexpected Book Launch Success

Paul Millerd wrote The Pathless Path starting Dec 2020 and published it Jan 2022 with almost no lead time between finishing and release.
He expected to break even after selling ~1,500 books and funded writing through other income while building an audience.

insights

INSIGHT

Design Wins Niche Readers

Self-publishing lets you obsess over countless small design and structural details that traditional publishers often miss.
Those details communicate care and attract a dedicated niche of readers who then become the main growth engine.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Turning Down Penguin’s Offer

Penguin offered Paul $70,000 for lifetime rights to Pathless Path plus $130,000 for a second book after his self-published sales accelerated.
He rejected the deal because the offer ceded lifetime rights and proposed only cosmetic changes with no clear upside.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

How Paul wrote and launched The Pathless Path

17:48 • 6min

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Early sales, reader responses, and doubling down

23:23 • 5min

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Why Paul self-published initially

28:50 • 6min

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Design choices and book packaging

34:50 • 6min

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The Penguin offer and why he rejected it

40:40 • 5min

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What deal would have worked for Paul

45:50 • 4min

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Rights, reversion, and industry problems

50:09 • 4min

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Creating an ultra-premium hardcover

53:45 • 3min

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Direct sales, margins, and launch strategy

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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 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