Book SummaryShow Your Work, by Austin Kleon

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Show Your Work

In Show Your Work!, Austin Kleon guides readers through his view of effective self-promotion. As he sees it, the best way to promote what you do—whether you’re an artist in the traditional sense or someone who uses creativity in your job—is to publicly share it all the way through your process, from the earliest phases to the finished product. This kind of sharing allows you to focus on honing your skills while making yourself available to be discovered and appreciated. Kleon attributes much of his own success to this practice of sharing.

As a bestselling author and illustrator, Kleon’s work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times and _The Wall Street...

Show Your Work Summary Why You Should Share Your Work All the Way Through Your Process

Many creative people hesitate to share their work because they don’t feel they have anything worth showing. Kleon believes a solution to this problem is to share the process of creating, not just the finished products. By distinguishing between these two aspects of creativity, Kleon seeks to reframe the idea of sharing your work.

Kleon offers three main reasons for why you should share your work all the way through your process. First, doing so lets you focus on developing your skills while growing your audience. Second, it’s a powerful way to make valuable connections. Third, it can enable you to live the life you want to live.

Reason #1: You Can Make Your Learning Process Work for You

Many artists and creatives feel that the best way to find an audience is to simply be really good at what you do. Kleon agrees that it’s important to be good at what you do, but he believes that you don’t have to put off finding an audience until you feel that you’ve gotten good enough. Instead, by opening up your learning process for others to see, you can focus on honing your craft while you attract an audience—thus getting more return on your investment of time...

Show Your Work Summary How to Share Your Creative Process

Kleon offers specific insights on how to share your work with others. He recommends first and foremost engaging with social media platforms to showcase your creative process and help people find you. In addition to social media, he recommends having your own website. In this section we’ll explore specific ways you can start sharing your work online.

(Shortform note: In the time since Show Your Work! was published, numerous studies have found that social media has profoundly negative effects on mental health. Kleon’s advice to use social media as a primary means of sharing your work should be considered with this in mind. It’s still valuable for advancing your creative career—in certain fields, such as the fashion industry, it’s even considered a requirement—but it’s important to monitor its impact on your well-being. One study found that [limiting social media use to 30 minutes per day can significantly improve your mental...

Show Your Work Summary How to Deal With Online Attention

Sharing your work online brings all kinds of attention, some of which may distract you, discourage you, or even completely derail your progress, writes Kleon. He has some specific advice about avoiding the wrong kinds of connections and handling criticism, so you can focus on what matters and continue doing the work you want to do. We’ll explore this advice here.

Avoid the Wrong Kinds of Connections

Making meaningful connections is what sharing your work is about, so it’s important that you cultivate constructive interactions, contends Kleon. A prime way to do this is to simply focus on the things you love—the work, the ideas, the artists, and so on. You’ll attract real people who love these same things and you’ll create fewer opportunities for negative attention to come your way.

(Shortform note: Happiness experts note that doing things you enjoy brings more pleasure than talking about things you enjoy. So, as you share your work with others online, focus on the act of creating—making the thing you like to make, or practicing the skill you hope to learn. If you instead get...

Show Your Work Summary Making Money From Your Work

As you create things, you’ll invariably reach a point where you consider making money from your work. Many creatives balk at the idea, believing it might corrupt the process. Kleon wants you to get over this inhibition. Everyone needs money to survive, and there’s nothing wrong with making money off your work—it doesn’t inherently corrupt creativity. Kleon has ideas to earn an income as a creative person.

(Shortform note: Kleon isn’t suggesting that you shouldn’t have another income besides your creative work. In his previous book, Steal Like an Artist, he encourages keeping a day job to foster your creativity. The reason for this is that having a reliable income will alleviate money worries. Also, the routine of a day job will help build a rhythm to your schedule that frees you up to focus on your creative interests when you’re off the clock.)

Donations

A common way to make money off your work is to simply ask for a donation. For instance, it’s generally expected that a performer will have a jar out to...

Show Your Work Summary How to Persevere

Kleon warns that there will be both good times and hard times as an artist. Sometimes the only thing that separates the successful from the unsuccessful is sticking to it. If you quit prematurely, you’ve already failed. Just keep at it and leave the door open to success whenever it may come. He offers three strategies that can help you persevere.

(Shortform note: According to some experts, perseverance is a critical part of success—it’s less about innate talent than it is about sticking with it and working hard. In her bestselling book, Grit, psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that your level of achievement is determined by how much skill you have and how much effort you put forth. As you increase your skill, your effort, or both, you increase your chances of success, no matter what your creative interest.)

Maintain Momentum

Kleon observes that many artists make it a habit to never stop at the end of a project. Instead, they always...

Shortform Exercise: Set Goals and Make a Schedule

Sharing your work the way Kleon describes takes dedication and effort. In this exercise, let’s take a look at the creative work you love the most, how often you do that work, and what you hope to achieve with it. Then, we’ll set some goals and schedule sharing into your routine in an effort to achieve those goals.

Take a moment to precisely describe the creative work you’re most passionate about. For example, if you’re interested in music, describe what kind of music you feel most passionate about creating: playing guitar and writing original songs or perhaps remixing digital samples to make beats, for instance. After you’ve described it, write a few sentences exploring why you feel so passionate about it. This is the work you should focus on sharing.