The Story
Paul Millerd quit his $250,000 consulting job to break free from what he calls "the default path" - aka the rat race. At 32, he quit Corporate America with no plan. He just started writing every day, and eventually wrote a book called The Pathless Path that has now sold 25,000+ copies and generated $125-130K in royalties.
Paul desperately wanted to break into fancy, prestigious companies early in his career. But that never quite fulfilled him. Before quitting, he was still applying for other jobs - one offered much less, others rejected him. So he just quit. "It was the first time in my life that I just let life emerge."
The next few months were hard. His company informed him he had to pay back $24,000 in signing bonus and relocation expenses because he hadn't stayed 3 years. "I had to buy my freedom." But with $50-60K in savings, he gave himself permission to wander.
Key Insights
Book Revenue
- •Year 1: ~$50,000 (10,000 copies at ~$5/book)
- •Year 2 (first 5 months): ~$75,000 (15,000 copies)
- •Total royalties: $125-130K profit
- •Last year: $100K → $249K in revenue
Why Self-Publish (Turned Down Penguin Random House)
- •Creative control - Not willing to give up any, even for more sales
- •Better royalties:
- •Traditional: 10% of list price (~$2/book for hardcovers)
- •Self-published: $7-8/book for paperbacks, $8/book for hardcovers
The Writing Journey
- •Started writing on Quora every day before work for 100 days
- •"I was a writer from that moment on"
- •Started a blog called "Lyme Sucks" about his health issues
- •Publishing frequency: every 3 months → 2 months → 1 month → every week → all the time
The Pathless Path Philosophy
- •"You can't actually escape work"
- •"You ultimately need to find work that can sustain your soul"
- •The pathless path = committing to finding that work without knowing when it will arrive
Finding Your Life's Work
- •Remove money from it as long as possible
- •The key is mostly just QUITTING things
- •If it's not lighting you up, get it out of your life
- •Take a 1-3 month sabbatical to disconnect from "worker mode"
- •"The only thing that will let deeper things emerge is creating space in your life"
Self-Publishing Costs
- •Editing/coaching: $3,900
- •Book cover (99designs): $742
- •Publishing fee (Ingram Spark): $250
- •Audiobook production: $1,280
- •Total investment: ~$6,200
- •Total profit: $125-130K
Royalty Breakdown
- •Hardcover (Amazon): $8.24
- •Paperback (Amazon): $7.45
- •Audiobook: $3.98
- •Kindle: $4.28
- •Sales mix: 50% ebook, 29% print, 21% audio
Other Revenue Streams
- •Freelancing
- •Course (Strategy U)
- •Workshop business
- •Coaching
Key Advice
"Just trust. Trust yourself. Writing is important. Don't give away the fun of the journey - the journey has been so fun because it's been so uncertain. That is adventure."