Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I always wanted to be a writer. Starting around age 11, I filled a box with stories — science fiction, fantasy, comedy, children's novels — and kept filling it through high school, college, and my first job. I sent stories out to publishers. Every one came back in a self-addressed stamped envelope with a form letter: thanks, but no thanks.
That box followed me from closet to basement to my garage in Arizona, where it sat for six years gathering dust.
This year I finally opened it. I scanned fifty-year-old pages, edited them lightly, designed them into a book, painted the cover, and published the whole thing myself. It's called Unpublishable — because it was.
This video is the whole journey: unpacking the box, choosing the stories, designing the pages and the cover, and holding the finished book in my hands.
📕 Unpublishable is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook: amzn.to/4fq6OCL
🟥 Become a channel member and get perks: youtube.com/channel/UCnwAvNKzdoFgRyvXEBJBv0Q/join
More from Danny Gregory:
💌 My (free) weekly essays: dannysessays.com
🎨 My newest course: Quick Draw: sketch.tiny.us/quick
✏️ My most popular course: How to Draw Without Talent: sketch.tiny.us/WIthoutTalent
🎓 My other courses: SketchbookSkool.com
📚 My books: sketch.tiny.us/books
❤️ My favorite art supplies ❤️
🖊️Drawing pen: geni.us/Fudenosuke
🖌️ Brush pen: geni.us/NIJP
⛲️ Fountain pen: geni.us/2L44mQ
✒️ Dip pen: geni.us/AzWOBZT
🖌️ Watercolor brush: geni.us/WNSix
👉 Nib: geni.us/ZebraGNib
📓 Sketchbook: geni.us/venezia
🌈 Colored Pencils: geni.us/Inktense
✏️ Colored-pencil sharpener: geni.us/VLhfnO3
🖍️ Tempera sticks: geni.us/tempera
Note: There are affiliate links on this page – this means that if you click through and order anything through them, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help me continue creating the free content I share, and I greatly appreciate the support!
0:00 I always wanted to be a writer
0:31 The box
1:04 What's inside
1:48 Submissions, rejections
2:55 Becoming a different kind of author
3:20 A box to a book
4:02 Unpacking the box
4:55 Picking
5:27 An early story
6:09 Scanning 50-year-old pages
7:03 Editing and introductions
7:23 Designing the book
8:01 The cover: Unpublishable
9:42 Uploading to Amazon KDP
10:08 It's a real book now
11:07 Holding it in my hands
12:31 For Danny at 13
I always wanted to be a writer. Starting around age 11, I filled a box with stories — science fiction, fantasy, comedy, children's novels — and kept filling it through high school, college, and my first job. I sent stories out to publishers. Every one came back in a self-addressed stamped envelope with a form letter: thanks, but no thanks.
That box followed me from closet to basement to my garage in Arizona, where it sat for six years gathering dust.
This year I finally opened it. I scanned fifty-year-old pages, edited them lightly, designed them into a book, painted the cover, and published the whole thing myself. It's called Unpublishable — because it was.
This video is the whole journey: unpacking the box, choosing the stories, designing the pages and the cover, and holding the finished book in my hands.
📕 Unpublishable is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook: amzn.to/4fq6OCL
🟥 Become a channel member and get perks: youtube.com/channel/UCnwAvNKzdoFgRyvXEBJBv0Q/join
More from Danny Gregory:
💌 My (free) weekly essays: dannysessays.com
🎨 My newest course: Quick Draw: sketch.tiny.us/quick
✏️ My most popular course: How to Draw Without Talent: sketch.tiny.us/WIthoutTalent
🎓 My other courses: SketchbookSkool.com
📚 My books: sketch.tiny.us/books
❤️ My favorite art supplies ❤️
🖊️Drawing pen: geni.us/Fudenosuke
🖌️ Brush pen: geni.us/NIJP
⛲️ Fountain pen: geni.us/2L44mQ
✒️ Dip pen: geni.us/AzWOBZT
🖌️ Watercolor brush: geni.us/WNSix
👉 Nib: geni.us/ZebraGNib
📓 Sketchbook: geni.us/venezia
🌈 Colored Pencils: geni.us/Inktense
✏️ Colored-pencil sharpener: geni.us/VLhfnO3
🖍️ Tempera sticks: geni.us/tempera
Note: There are affiliate links on this page – this means that if you click through and order anything through them, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help me continue creating the free content I share, and I greatly appreciate the support!
0:00 I always wanted to be a writer
0:31 The box
1:04 What's inside
1:48 Submissions, rejections
2:55 Becoming a different kind of author
3:20 A box to a book
4:02 Unpacking the box
4:55 Picking
5:27 An early story
6:09 Scanning 50-year-old pages
7:03 Editing and introductions
7:23 Designing the book
8:01 The cover: Unpublishable
9:42 Uploading to Amazon KDP
10:08 It's a real book now
11:07 Holding it in my hands
12:31 For Danny at 13
