Notes and Takeaways from Show Your Work!
When I read it: April 2021
Why I read it: I’m a member of the Trends.vc community, and Show Your Work is the book of the month. I don’t know about you, but I struggle with self-promotion. I want to be better about sharing my work, but I often talk myself out of it. Show Your Work teaches you how to build sharing into your work routine. Instead of keeping your work secret, you regularly share bits and pieces of your process, your ideas, and what you’re learning.
Go to the Amazon listing for the book or scroll down for my notes.
Want to get my future notes when I publish them? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter below.
My notes
About Austin Kleon
Austin Kleon (@austinkleon) is a writer and artist living in Austin, Texas. In addition to Show Your Work!, he's the author of two bestselling books: Steal Like an Artist and Newspaper Blackout.
About Show Your Work!
In Show Your Work!, Austin Kleon walks through an alternative to self-promotion that involves sharing your work and process in a way that attracts people who might be interested in what you do.
Build sharing into your work routine
To be found, you have to be findable. Build sharing into your work routine.
Instead of keeping your work secret, be open about what you’re working on. Share bits and pieces of your work, your ideas, and what you’re learning.
Don’t waste your time “networking,” take advantage of the network. Share your ideas and knowledge.
The ten rules for showing your work
In Show Your Work!, Austin Kleon shares the following ten rules for sharing your work with others:
You don’t have to be a genius
Think process, not product
Share something small every day
Open up your cabinet of curiosities
Tell good stories
Teach what you know
Don’t turn into human spam
Learn to take a punch
Sell out
Stick around
1. You don’t have to be a genius
One of the most destructive myths about creativity is the “lone genius” myth. According to this myth, being creative is an antisocial act performed by only a few significant figures (e.g. Mozart, Einstein, Picasso, etc.).
In reality, most creative ideas originate from a group of creative individuals, not a lone genius. Brian Eno, who is a musician and producer, refers to this as “scenius”. According to Eno, most of the historical greats were part of a whole scene of people who were supporting each other, looking at each other’s work, copying from each other, stealing ideas, and contributing ideas. The internet makes it easier than ever to join and contribute to a “scenius”.
Good work isn’t created in silos. It requires collaboration.
Creativity is the result of a mind connected to other minds. It’s about what you have to contribute. Creativity includes the ideas you share, the connections you make, and the conversations you start. To be creative, you must consider how to nurture and contribute to other people’s ideas.
Stop asking what others can do for you, and start asking what you can do for others.
Be an amateur
The amateur is “the enthusiast who pursues her work in the spirit of love, regardless of the potential for fame, money, or career.” Amateurs are lifelong learners and make a point of learning in the open so that others can learn from their wins and losses. Amateurs use whatever tools they can get their hands on to get their ideas into the world.
One advantage amateurs have over professionals is that they have little to lose. This allows them to take risks and experiment without fear of failure. Amateurs do not fear making mistakes in public because they know contributing something is better than contributing nothing.
Sometimes amateurs have more to teach us than experts.
The world is changing faster than ever before. The best way to flourish is to retain the amateur’s spirit. Embrace uncertainty and the unknown. Decide what you want to learn, and commit to learning it in front of others.
In your area of interest (“scenius”), pay attention to what others are sharing and not sharing. Then, fill the voids. If you share what you love, the people who share your love will find you.
When you’re scared, remember you’re mortal.
One day you’ll be dead. Considering your inevitable death helps put things in perspective. That’s why near-death experiences change people’s lives. George Lucas almost died in a car accident. Wayne Coyne was held up while working at Long John Silver’s. Austin Kleon reads the obituaries every morning. Thinking about death every morning makes him want to live.
2. Think process, not product
When you talk about your work, it doesn’t have to be about a finished product. You can also talk about your work process.
In all work, there is a difference between the work process and the work product. Your work process is all the day-to-day stuff behind the scenes. This includes looking for inspiration, getting an idea, drafting, etc. Your work process is how you make the sausage.
Your work product is your finished product. It’s the sausage.
You can form a unique bond with your audience when you share your work process. It’s vulnerable and vulnerability is the basis for trust. Humans are interested in other people’s sausage-making. That’s why reality TV is so popular.
Your audience wants to be creative. They want to be part of the creative process. Whatever you do, there is an art to your work. When you share your process, you allow people to connect and contribute. So, be your own reality star.
Get started by turning your scraps into media you can share. Become a documentarian of what you do. For example, you can share journal entries on the status of your work or photos of your work at different stages.
Share your notes, research, references, and interviews if you're writing a book.
Share your drawings, sketches, and scrapbooks if you’re creating a piece of art.
Share your prototypes, demos, and blueprints if you’re building a product.
3. Share something small every day
Almost every overnight success story is the result of a decade of hard work and perseverance. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It was built one day at a time. So once a day, share a piece of your process.
If you’re in the early stages, share what’s inspiring you and influencing you. If you’re in the middle stages, write about your methods or share your drafts. If you’re finished, show the final product and write about what you learned. Also, don’t forget to share the sawdust of your work—what didn’t make it into the final product but still holds value.
Report on how your past work is doing and tell stories about people’s experiences with it.
Social media sites are the perfect place to share daily updates. When you post on social media, share what you’re working on.
According to Sturgeon’s law, ninety percent of everything is crap.
Don’t overshare
Run everything you share through the “So What?” Test. Ask yourself, “Is this helpful? Is it entertaining? Is it something I’d be comfortable with my boss or my mother seeing?” Go with your gut, and if you’re unsure whether to share something, wait 24 hours.
When you share regularly, trends emerge. These trends can lead to larger pieces of work. For example, an idea might start as a tweet, then become a blog post, and eventually turn into a book.
A personal website is an ideal place to share your work. Don’t think of your website as a self-promotion machine; think of it as a self-invention machine. Stick with it, maintain it, and let it change with you over time.
4. Open up your cabinet of curiosities
In 16th- and 17th-century Europe, it was fashionable to have a Wunderkammern, a “wonder chamber,” or a “cabinet of curiosities” in your house (i.e., a room filled with rare and remarkable objects that served as a kind of external display of your thirst for knowledge of the world.) These were precursors to the modern museum. They were places dedicated to the study of history, nature, and the arts.
There’s not as big of a difference between collecting and creating as you might think. For example, writers curate their reading because reading feeds writing.
If you’re not ready to share your work, share your influences.
It’s vulnerable to share your influences because it gives people clues about who you are.
Share your inspiration. What sorts of things do you fill your head with? What do you read? Do you subscribe to anything? What sites do you visit on the Internet? What music do you listen to? What movies do you see? Do you look at art?
Share your collections. What’s inside your scrapbook? What do you pin to the corkboard above your desk? What do you stick on your refrigerator?
Share your admirations. Who do you steal ideas from? Do you have any heroes? Who do you follow online? Who are the practitioners you look up to in your field?
Don’t try to be hip or cool. Don’t self-edit. Being honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people who like those things too.
Be a dumpster diver. Find the treasure in other people’s trash by paying attention to what everyone else is ignoring.
Credit others’ work
When you share the work of others, make sure to give proper credit. Treat others' work like you would like them to treat your own. Crediting work is the right thing to do.
Providing credit is also helpful to your audience. Attribution allows them to dig deeper into the work or find more of it. Good attribution is about putting useful labels next to the stuff you share that provide context about 1) what the work is, who made it, and when and where it was made, 2) why you’re sharing it and why people should care about it, and 3) where people can see some more work like it.
Give shoutouts (e.g., “I found this via...”) and hat-tips (e.g. “H/T to...”) to people who’ve helped you discover good work.
Online, the most important form of attribution is a hyperlink pointing back to the website of the creator of the work.
5. Tell good stories
Stories are a powerful driver of emotional value. They can increase the subjective value of any object. The stories you tell about the work you do affect how people value your work.
To get better at sharing, you need to get better at storytelling. To do this, you need to know what makes a good story and how to tell it.
The most important part of a story is its structure. Good story structure is tidy, sturdy, and logical.
According to Emma Coats, a former storyboard artist at Pixar, the basic structure of a fairy tale is:
“Once upon a time, there was _____. Every day, _____. One day, _____. Because of that, _____. Because of that, _____. Until finally, _____.”
According to John Gardner the basic plot of nearly all stories is:
“A character wants something, goes after it despite opposition (perhaps including his own doubts), and so arrives at a win, lose, or draw.”
A good pitch is set up in three acts. First, it covers the past including where you’ve been, what you want, how you came to want it, and what you’ve done so far to get it. Second, comes the present including where you are now in your work and how you’ve worked hard and used up most of your resources. Third, comes the future including where you’re going, and how the person you’re pitching can help you get there.
Be thoughtful of your audience. Speak to them directly in plain language and be brief.
Good storytelling is a skill that takes a lifetime to master. Study the great stories and then go create some of your own.
Stories get better the more you tell them.
“So, what do you do?”
When someone asks you what you do, view it as an opportunity to connect with them. Honestly and humbly explain what you do. Keep it short and sweet. Don’t brag. Just state the facts. Be ready for blank stares and more questions and answer them with patience.
6. Teach what you know
You receive an education in return when you teach others what you know. You also generate more interest in your work. People feel closer to you because you’re letting them in on what you know.
With most art forms, there’s an intuition that you only gain through repetition and practice. In their book, Rework, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson encourage businesses to teach others about their recipes, cookbooks, and anything informative about how they operate.
The minute you learn something, turn around and teach it to others. Share your reading list. Point to helpful reference materials. Create tutorials that take people step-by-step through part of your process.
7. Don’t turn into human spam
If you want to get, you have to give.
If you want to be a writer, you must be a reader.
If you want to be interesting, you have to be interested.
If you want to be accepted by a community, you must first become a good citizen.
In his book Show Your Work!, Austin Kleon uses the term “human spam” to refer to people who want success without sacrifice. For example, they want to be a great writer without having to read.
If you’re only pointing to your own stuff online, you’re doing it wrong.
Always be looking for potential collaborators. Be a connector. If you're open to them, connections become a natural outgrowth of your work.
Focus on the quality of people who follow you, not the number.
According to Lawrence Weschler, to be “interest-ing” is to be curious and attentive.
The Vampire Test is a simple way to know who you should let in and out of your life. If after hanging out with someone you feel worn out and depleted, that person is a vampire. If after hanging out with someone you still feel full of energy, that person is not a vampire.
Spend time with people who share mutual respect. Nurture these relationships. Sing their praises. Invite them to collaborate. Show them work before you show anybody else. Share your secrets with them. Ask them to share their passions with you.
8. Learn to take a punch
You can’t control what sort of criticism you receive, but you can control how you react to it.
When you share your work, you’ll receive criticism. And the more sharing you do, the more criticism you’ll receive. Take a deep breath and accept whatever comes. The more criticism you take, the more you realize it can’t hurt you.
Protect your vulnerable areas.
If you want to connect with people, you need to be vulnerable. But if you have work that is too sensitive and can’t handle criticism, don’t share it.
Handling feedback
Focus on the feedback from people who care about you and what you do, and be cautious of everything else. Don’t feed trolls, and they’ll usually go away. If they don’t, block them and delete their comments. Consider turning off comments. Let people contact you directly or let them discuss your work somewhere else.
9. Sell out
Don’t be afraid to charge for your work. At the very least, ask for an email address. Don’t constrain yourself in the name of “keeping it real,” or “not selling out”. Do what you want to do regardless of how it looks.
You have a finite amount of time and attention. At some point, you have to switch from saying “yes” to saying “no”. Be as generous as you can while being selfish enough to get your work done.
10. Stick around
Don’t quit prematurely. The people who get what they want are often the ones who stick around long enough. Don’t can’t count on success. Leave open the possibility for success and jump on when it shows up.
Chain-smoke projects. Use the end of one project to light up the next one.
Sometimes you need a period to recharge and get inspired again. When this happens take a sabbatical if you can. If you can’t take a sabbatical, look for ways to recharge like exercise and seeking nature.
The comedian Louis C.K. worked on the same hour of material for 15 years, until he found out that his hero, George Carlin, threw out his material every year and started from scratch. Sometimes you have to get rid of work and rethink things completely. When you get rid of old material, you push yourself to come up with something better by using what you learned from previous projects.
Random Quotes
“For artists, the great problem to solve is how to get oneself noticed” —Honoré de Balzac
“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”—Steve Martin
“We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies.” —Walt Disney
“Above all, recognize that if you have had success, you have also had luck—and with luck comes obligation. You owe a debt, and not just to your gods. You owe a debt to the unlucky.” —Michael Lewis
“In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.” —Shunryo Suzuki
“It often happens that two schoolboys can solve difficulties in their work for one another better than the master can… The difficulty we want him to explain is one he has recently met. The expert met it so long ago he has forgotten.” —C. S. Lewis.
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked.” —Steve Jobs
“In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen—really seen.” —Brené Brown
“Put yourself, and your work, out there every day, and you’ll start meeting some amazing people.” —Bobby Solomon
“The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the dog’s mat is a story.” ―John le Carré
“When people realize they’re being listened to, they tell you things.” —Richard Ford
“Compulsive avoidance of embarrassment is a form of suicide.” —Colin Marshall
“The biggest problem of success is that the world conspires to stop you doing the thing that you do, because you are successful.” —Neil Gaiman.
“Work while the world is sleeping, and share while the world is at work.” —Austin Kleon