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Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered (Austin Kleon) Kindle Edition

by Austin Kleon (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 10,002 ratings
Goodreads Choice Award nominee
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In his New York Times bestseller Steal Like an Artist, Austin Kleon showed readers how to unlock their creativity by “stealing” from the community of other movers and shakers. Now, in an even more forward-thinking and necessary book, he shows how to take that critical next step on a creative journey—getting known.

 Show Your Work! is about why generosity trumps genius. It’s about getting findable, about using the network instead of wasting time “networking.” It’s not self-promotion, it’s self-discovery—let others into your process, then let them steal from you. Filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, Show Your Work! offers ten transformative rules for being open, generous, brave, productive.

In chapters such as You Don’t Have to Be a Genius; Share Something Small Every Day; and Stick Around, Kleon creates a user’s manual for embracing the communal nature of creativity— what he calls the “ecology of talent.” From broader life lessons about work (you can’t find your voice if you don’t use it) to the etiquette of sharing—and the dangers of oversharing—to the practicalities of Internet life (build a good domain name; give credit when credit is due), it’s an inspiring manifesto for succeeding as any kind of artist or entrepreneur in the digital age.

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  1. Print length
    131 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Workman Publishing Company
  5. Publication date
    March 6, 2014
  6. File size
    17260 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  1. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.
    Highlighted by 10,084 Kindle readers
  2. Don’t think of your website as a self-promotion machine, think of it as a self-invention machine.
    Highlighted by 7,519 Kindle readers
  3. You just have to be as generous as you can, but selfish enough to get your work done.
    Highlighted by 6,317 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Forget the lone genius myth, says Kleon, author of the best-seller, Steal like an Artist (2012). His 10-step journey in this beginner’s guide to self-promotion emphasizes audience building and explains the how and why of such approaches as thinking about process rather than product, sharing something each day, teaching what you know, learning to take a punch, and developing staying power. Kleon’s use of artists’ quotes, photographs, and organizational diagrams enhances the text as he reminds readers of how interested people are in the creative process. Become a documentarian . . . start a journal . . . keep a scrapbook . . . see the work you’re doing more clearly and feel . . . progress. When you’re ready to share, you’ll have a surplus of material. Put work out there and let people take their best shot. Then make even more work and keep sharing it until you learn that criticism can’t hurt and may help you. And stick with it. Kleon’s powerful advice makes this small-format book not-at-all little. --Whitney Scott

Review

"Austin Kleon is one of the brightest new minds on the creative landscape. Show Your Work! demonstrates why. With simple yet profound insights, and an array of his amazing images, he casts aside old stereotypes of the creative life and tells what it's really like." - Daniel Pink, author of To Sell is Human and Drive

"[Show Your Work is] timeless; readers can return to it repeatedly throughout life and still glean useful ideas and tips... Anyone starting out (or starting over)...will find upbeat encouragement here."
―Library Journal

“Some people are natural self-promoters. For others, it’s painfully difficult to put their work out there. In this creatively designed pocket-sized book, Kleon offers the latter group effective strategies that allow them to share their work without leaving their comfort zone…. Kleon’s advice is sassy and spot-on.”
―Publishers Weekly

“[The] subtitle could just as easily be, ‘How to Self-promote Without Being a Jerkface.’ It’s an incredibly useful and compulsively readable short book.”
―Fast Company

“Kleon addresses with equal parts humility, honesty, and humor one of the quintessential questions of the creative life: How do you get ‘discovered’? In some ways, the book is the mirror-image of Kleon’s debut ― rather than encouraging you to ‘steal’ from others… it offers a blueprint to making your work influential enough to be theft-worthy.”
―Brain Pickings

“A must-read for anyone involved in the creative process.”
―LibraryReads


“Kleon’s powerful advice makes this small-format book not-at-all little.”
―Booklist

“In this motivating book, packed with smart approaches, ideas and quotes, Kleon teaches you how best to navigate through creative work in the present day. . . . A certain and deserved bestseller.”
―The Bookseller

“It’s not often that I find myself reviewing a book that I can say has already changed my life. . . . At a crucial turn in this fabulous little wallop of a book comes the simple directive, ‘Share something small every day.’ That ‘something’ oughtn’t be your Instagrammed latte or a selfie, but something ‘useful or interesting’ about your work. Put enough somethings out there, and a lone artist or entrepreneur can soon be a productive part of a creative community.”
―BookPage

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00GU2RGGI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Workman Publishing Company; Illustrated edition (March 6, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 6, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 17260 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 131 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 10,002 ratings

About the author

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Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon

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Austin Kleon is a writer and artist living in Austin, Texas. He's the author of two bestselling books: Steal Like an Artist, a manifesto for creativity in the digital age, and Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. He speaks about creativity for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. Visit him online at www.austinkleon.com.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
10,002 global ratings
NOT life changing
3 Stars
NOT life changing
I bought this book based on a recommendation from Ali Abdaal’s YouTube channel. (Shout out to Ali!) There he professed that this series of books “changed his life.”It’s safe to say that expectations were set rather too high. Certainly, there’s no way I could ever call this book life-changing. The best I can say is it’s a very short, light read, with occasional thought-provoking quotes.A large chunk of this book will be obvious to anyone who’s grown up using the internet. Perhaps in 2014 when it was first published there was more of a need for such insights. We often forget how fast things change.One thing that bugged me throughout was the ugly and unnecessary illustrations that failed to add anything—blacked out words, reminiscent of the pasted newspaper letters from a cartoon kidnapper’s ransom note.
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Top reviews from the United States

David Roseberry
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Insights. Hyper Creative. Fun to Read.
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
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I liked this book a lot. Why? Because Austin got me to think about my own creative process, where I am lax or lazy, and what I could be doing better. I told my creative-genius daughter about it and she bought one too.

Pure inspiration. A ton of great quotes. You can tell this writer reads a lot too.

The writer is part philosophical, spiritual, a tiny bit theological, and very practical.
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Shopwise
5.0 out of 5 stars reluctant to join in social media?
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2024
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Are you, like me, an artist who is reluctant to join in social media? This book changed my perspective and provided simple ways to get started and other tips that will make the process enjoyable. I feel better prepared to start sharing my work and see this as part of my learning process rather than my promoting process.
One person found this helpful
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Harlan
4.0 out of 5 stars Very light to read on the chill day
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2024
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Easy to read, not too many unnecessary explaination, good analogy, recommend for those insecurities people to start sharing their works
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Wendi Gwaltney
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you for sharing
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024
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A must read for anyone starting a new venture. Easy to read. It is like sitting down with a friend enjoying a cup of coffee. Sharing wisdom, always a good thing!
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Robert Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works...." Matthew 5:16
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2014
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As Austin Kleon explains, his previous book, Steal Like an Artist, "was about stealing influence from other people" whereas "this book is about how to influence others by letting them steal from [begin italics] you [end italics]." I agree with him that "all you have to do is to show your work" but only if (HUGE "if") it's worth stealing and you know how to do that in terms of what, when, and where. Actually, he wrote this book "for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion." It's not enough to be very good. "In order to be found, you have to [begin italics] be findable [end italics]. I think there's an easy way of putting your work out there and making it discoverable [begin italics] while [end italics] you're focused on getting really good at what you do."

Kleon's two books can be of incalculable value to those who need help with creating content (whatever its nature and extent may be) and then help with attracting the interest and support of those on whom the success of the offering depends. It could be a product, a service, or both. Its target market could be singles, seniors, the unemployed or under-employed, new parents, do-it-yourselfers, beginners at whatever...you get the idea.

So, how to become findable? First, Kleon explains the need for developing a new mindset, one that will enable the reluctant self-promoter to think differently so that she or he can then operate differently. Here's his key point: "Almost all of the people I look up to and try to steal from today, regardless of their profession, have built [begin italics] sharing [end italics] into their routine. Next, he urges his reader to find what the musician Brian Eno characterizes as a "scenius": a group of creative individuals who make up an ecology of talent. "What I love about the idea of scenius is that it makes room in the story of creativity for the rest of us: the people who don't consider ourselves geniuses."

Then Kleon suggests ten specific observations and initiatives, devoting a separate chapter to each. The purpose of the first, "You don't have to be a genius," is an important reassurance that David and Tom Kelley also provide in their recently published book, Creative Confidence: Believing that only geniuses are creative "is a myth that far too many people share. This book is about the opposite of that myth. It is about what we call 'creative confidence.' And at its foundation is the belief that we are [begin italics] all [end italics] creative...Creative confidence is a way of seeing that potential and your place in the world more clearly, unclouded by anxiety and doubt. We hope you'll join us on our quest to embrace creative confidence in our lives. Together, we can all make the world a better place."

The other nine call for initiatives that almost anyone can take. Kleon suggests the most important do's and don'ts to keep in mind. Two key elements are repeatedly emphasized. First, share generously and continuously with those who comprise an appropriate (key word) ecology of talent: people who share common interest and goals, yes, but also common questions and concerns. Share what will be of greatest interest and value to them. Also, be yourself. Why? I like Oscar Wilde's response best: "Everyone else is taken." Each person is a unique work-in-progress. That's hardly an original insight but well-worth repeating.

Let's allow Austin Kleon the final observations: "Human beings are interested in other human beings and what other human beings do. Audiences today not only want to stumble across great work, they, too, long to be part of the creative process. By showing people your 'behind-the-scenes footage" [i.e. portions of incomplete and imperfect work], they can see the person behind the products, and they can better form a relationship with you and your work." So show it...and your authentic self in process.
94 people found this helpful
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Matthew Jablonski
5.0 out of 5 stars Letting one's work evolve is the key to success!
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2024
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Never declare one artistic process become your official style; think of it as YOUR evolution's origin.
One person found this helpful
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Sandy
4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good.
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2024
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This book doesn't get 5 stars from me only because it's written a little all over the place...I like the author a lot, but I couldn't get focused...too many concepts and didn't have the flow I'd like to have in a book. But it's entertaining!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ian
5.0 out of 5 stars practical and succinct guide to creating
Reviewed in Canada on January 20, 2024
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Helped solidify some things I knew while helping perceived them from new angles. Was a quick read and enjoyed it. Likely to reread and take more notes.
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Luís D.
5.0 out of 5 stars Blowing mind
Reviewed in Brazil on August 2, 2023
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Simple explained, directly, objective, and a lot of essential points we maybe miss between the crazy daily base chases/work/tasks etc...
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Daniel
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic !
Reviewed in Mexico on July 21, 2023
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Libro muy ameno, sencillo de leer que en modo de te tos breves va depositando ideas sobre cómo empezar a promocionar tu trabajo antes de que esté exista. Se trata de enganchar a la gente en el proceso y no en el resultado. La gente amara como creas cosas más de lo que amaran las cosas que creas. Y probablemente una vez hayas enganchado a la gente en tu proceso creativo, ellos a,aran mucho más aún tu obra que si la descubren por casualidad una vez terminada.
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Milica Baltovski
5.0 out of 5 stars Love this book!
Reviewed in Germany on May 6, 2024
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Amazing book that will shift your perspective and give you courage to take actions in showing your work. I will take it anywhere with me, I love it so much, thank you Austin 🥰
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D
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in Belgium on March 16, 2024
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Good book
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