33 Comments
User's avatar
Julie Fredrickson's avatar

Thank goodness they didn’t say yes to the counter offer or we wouldn’t have this beauty in the world. An excellent present for those at transitional moments in their lives

Michaela Richter's avatar

Well done for ignoring MBA Paul and going for the gut feeling. I bet lots of us need reminders like this to be more bold with our creative dreams.

Frankie Thorogood's avatar

It looks awesome mate

Charlie Bleecker's avatar

Paul, the book is STUNNING. And this was thrilling to read. Thanks for paving a new way for all of us, making alternative paths exciting and accessible.

Paul Millerd's avatar

thank you charlie!!

Jay Vidyarthi's avatar

inspiring!

Andre Nader's avatar

Simply beautiful Paul. Not just beauty to look at, a jolt of inspiration.

Paul Millerd's avatar

that was the goal

Jalyn Cai's avatar

I'm so excited for everything about this, and I'm so happy to be able to experience your detail and love for the craft. Looking forward to having this beaut in my hands!

Charley Todd's avatar

Inspired dude.

INSPIRED

Colin McIvor's avatar

Excellent post Paul, do you think this also applies to fiction. I could be wrong but I would imagine it is easier to promote a non fiction book with such a strong message as yours on social media than a work of fiction

Paul Millerd's avatar

I think it depends on the fiction. Brandon Sanderson seems to be doing well.

Ben Katt's avatar

Love this, Paul. Really really inspiring and influencing my likely path for book number 2!

Nate Stranzl's avatar

Loved this. It's so refreshing to see someone invest in care and creativity over everything else. It's a long game approach and I think this path always wins. It's like the Steve Jobs "build the back of the cabinet" thing - make things beautiful for the sake of it and it will provide that much more value to your customer.

Rick Lewis's avatar

I was right there as you were having that conversation with the Penguin team. Wild and harrowing. Such a sense of emptiness in the exchange. Thank god you've got such a strong connection to the meaning and purpose possible with this book game.

Paul Millerd's avatar

How I felt exactly. 😆

zaid's avatar

imagine they said yes to the 600k! we might never have seen the beauty in the full creative expression of The Pathless Path. inspired to go write my book now, thanks Paul

Paul Millerd's avatar

thank goodness lol

Vio's avatar
Oct 27Edited

I appreciate this perspective you wrote on traditional publishers. I queried 46 agents for my book (memoir) and I've just been getting passes. I was trying to see the positive in this and your post opened my eyes. Thank you! If you can offer one marketing advice to a newbie author, what would it be? This is the key (for me at least) to just say F U to traditional publishers.

Paul Millerd's avatar

i wrote most of my thoughts here: pathlesspath.com/marketing

Vio's avatar
Oct 27Edited

Thank you and can't wait to do a deep dive on your experience. And I loved your book too! Read it last year.

kora 🌊's avatar

holy crap, this book is seriously gorgeous!! you have so much to be proud of here.

i actually went straight for the fine-arts hardcover edition for my first book, and am skipping the paperback completely. like you, i’m betting on the fact that people are willing to spend on a book that is also an art object — something that can be proudly displayed on a coffee table or bookshelf :)

Paul Millerd's avatar

love that, wishing you success

Rick Foerster's avatar

As someone entering the publishing journey, I always appreciate how folks like you and others speak so transparently about the process. Helps to demystify it for the rest of us.

Paul Millerd's avatar

That’s a huge motivation in sharing. Glad it helps.