Title and author
Title
The Pathless Path
Author
Paul Millerd
Photo of the author
Author biography
Paul Millerd is a curious human who is fascinated by the stories we use to make sense of our lives. He spends his time reading, writing, working with interesting companies, running an online business, and making friends.
Description
Genre
Non-fiction
Book description
This Pathless Path is a story about a shift from getting ahead to coming alive. In college, Paul becomes obsessed with the idea of landing a prestigious job and does everything in his power to become the type of person that can follow that kind of path. Over the next ten years, he navigates becoming what he thought he wanted before realizing he is on the wrong path. He walks away and finds that a different kind of journey, one that doesn’t quite make sense, might hold the key to balancing life, work, and success in the modern world.
Target audience
Professionals from college-aged to mid-life who are afraid to shift beyond the default path of success. People that have a deep feeling that something is "off" but are afraid of taking action. My readers is similar to the hundreds of people I've had "curiosity conversations" with over the past few years - 18-45, has had some success in their life, struggles with fitting into the default script of their country, but doesn't love the popular alternatives many offer "become a startup founder!"
Physical book details
Book cover type
Paperback
Front cover
- Title
- Author’s name
- Subtitle
Front cover details
Subtitle: Imagining A New Story For Work & Life
Back cover
- Blurb
- Price
- Barcode/ISBN
Back cover details
Spine
- Title
- Author’s name
Spine details
Book publisher
Lightning Source / IngramSpark
Ebook details
First page
- Title
- Author’s name
- Subtitle
First ebook page details
Last page
- Author biography
Last ebook page details
Ebook publisher
Amazon Kindle
Visual style
Design inspiration
Colors to explore



Other color requirements
Creative vision
Style attributes
Design needs
The mood should be inspiring, thought provoking, and curiosity. The story is about leaving the "default path" of success but not about escaping it.
Ideas that might be interesting to see:
- Someone embarking on a path without a clear end and being inspired along the way
- Items like a tie or suit being left behind on a path that goes towards something beautiful in nature
- Some way of simply conveying there is a new story worth following, one that inspires joy, connection & hope
I've also attached my podcast cover - while I dont want as much detail it captures the mood im looking for
What to avoid
I don’t think I want anything with roads
Files
Stock images
Client allowed the use of stock for this contest.
Stock images are licensed photos and vector files. Please declare stock when you submit designs so that clients can pay for licenses.
Attachments
Contest deliverables
1 x Physical book cover
Winner of this contest
1 x Ebook cover
Final files
If you use fonts that require a license, confirm with the client they're ok with it. For licensing reasons, it is better to provide your client with information on how to acquire the font rather than providing the actual files.