Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered
- Downloads：5932
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-27 11:16:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Austin Kleon
- ISBN：076117897X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
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。
Reviews
Zahra Ferdous
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rating : 8/10How I found It : I heard of the book 1st in Ariel Bissett's channel。 She said good stuffs about this small book。 Then Ali Abdaal， a youtuber I follow for study guides， also talks about this book a lot。 Says how it inspired him to show his own works to the world， to start his website and all。 I don't read self help books much。 It feels like I'm being lectured and also the contents are often repetitive。 I mainly picked up the book on Ali's recommendation。What I Liked : It's small and rating : 8/10How I found It : I heard of the book 1st in Ariel Bissett's channel。 She said good stuffs about this small book。 Then Ali Abdaal， a youtuber I follow for study guides， also talks about this book a lot。 Says how it inspired him to show his own works to the world， to start his website and all。 I don't read self help books much。 It feels like I'm being lectured and also the contents are often repetitive。 I mainly picked up the book on Ali's recommendation。What I Liked : It's small and to the point。 The writer don't rumble。 Has interesting sketches and drawings and photos。 The ideas， though not original， are put together nicely。 Some lines and quotes really resonated with me。 Like I felt them to be true:“The problem with hoarding is you end up living off your reserves。 Eventually， you’ll become stale。 If you give away everything you have， you are left with nothing。 This forces you to look， to be aware， to replenish。 。 。 。 Somehow the more you give away， the more comes back to you。” —Paul ArdenSo freaking true。 If I try to keep things for future usually it gets non-trendy by that time。 And also new ideas don't come。“The impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful， it is destructive。 Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you。 You open your safe and find ashes。” —Annie Dillard Yes。 I like sharing。 When I keep it for myself I feel guilty， new opportunities don't come as no one knows what I'm doing。 And when you share， you and those you share with work better and faster and different ideas come from different heads。 So teach what you have learnt and learn what others wanna teach you。“Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough。”God！ I felt embarrassed as realization hit me。 I am not an enthusiastic learner。 Anyone who wanna keep up with good work needs to be prepared to learn stuffs all the time。 Which I'm not doing。。。。What I Hated : Uhh。。 nothing really。 It was too simple and small to find much fault。 So yes。 And reading this a lot many ideas that I had in my head took a bit of shape， even if it is an abstract shape。 That's something， right？ 。。。more
Nicole Woolaston
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Whether you are a writer， artist， blogger or any other creative type， there’s a need to get your work out there and have other people see it， read it， etc。 Sometimes its easy， most of the time it isn’t。 In his book， Kleon offers insight as well as advice on how to share what you’ve created， no matte what it is。 I’m a writer， so for me， it’s a matter of getting as many people as possible to read my stories and books。 Share something everyday， no matter how small。 This is my biggest takeaway from Whether you are a writer， artist， blogger or any other creative type， there’s a need to get your work out there and have other people see it， read it， etc。 Sometimes its easy， most of the time it isn’t。 In his book， Kleon offers insight as well as advice on how to share what you’ve created， no matte what it is。 I’m a writer， so for me， it’s a matter of getting as many people as possible to read my stories and books。 Share something everyday， no matter how small。 This is my biggest takeaway from the book。 Post pictures of a piece of artwork you’re working on， even if it’s not finished。 Blog about the book you’re writing。 Tweet a line from a poem you’re working on。 Share some part of your creativity every day。 I believe this book will be extremely helpful to anyone who creates anything。 。。。more
Khalid Khamis
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Read this book for my 25th birthday and I couldn’t have found a better book to kick off a new year of my life with。 It helped me clarify the dilemma I had of sharing online and the way of giving and taking in the virtual world。 “Yet a life of creativity is all about change-moving forward， taking chances， exploring new frontiers”
Pia Sophia
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This is a cute little book which has inspired me on some parts。 It didn't， however， teach me things I didn't know - something I expected it would。 3。5 stars， the extra 0。5 for the kick in the butt it gave me to post a new social media post sharing my work。 This is a cute little book which has inspired me on some parts。 It didn't， however， teach me things I didn't know - something I expected it would。 3。5 stars， the extra 0。5 for the kick in the butt it gave me to post a new social media post sharing my work。 。。。more
Ramisa Alam
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Eye opening book
Erich Yeine
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Gago pano ba magbasa dito， ayoko na😭
Jixuan Wang
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Many YouTubers' journey start from this book。 The ideas of self-promotion， not afraid of being amateurs， willingness to share （as either experts or amateurs）， documentation of work， building the right connection， persistence， etc。， are widely applicable in many domains。 As a PhD student and researcher， I found those ideas/tips covered are very useful and inspiring。 Many YouTubers' journey start from this book。 The ideas of self-promotion， not afraid of being amateurs， willingness to share （as either experts or amateurs）， documentation of work， building the right connection， persistence， etc。， are widely applicable in many domains。 As a PhD student and researcher， I found those ideas/tips covered are very useful and inspiring。 。。。more
Nazanin
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This was a great short book。 The message and impact of the book prompted me to write this review。 The author gave me a friendly push to try to open up more and explore and share my authentic self， tastes， and ideas。
Seemab Hassan
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A nice handbook for creators。
Salome Santos
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It definitely made me think about how I see and develop my artwork。 Undoubtedly a book to always have at hand。
Tyler Roberts
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📷 Snapshot ReviewHave you ever thought， ‘it would be fun to start a YouTube channel’ or ‘maybe I should start a blog’ but you refrained through fear of looking foolish？ I have too。 That was until I read this book。Show Your Work is a small， 224-page motivational handbook that explains why you don’t have to be an expert to share your work， why you should share your progress before you’ve reached your ultimate outcome， and why you should be yourself， be vulnerable and above all else connect with li 📷 Snapshot ReviewHave you ever thought， ‘it would be fun to start a YouTube channel’ or ‘maybe I should start a blog’ but you refrained through fear of looking foolish？ I have too。 That was until I read this book。Show Your Work is a small， 224-page motivational handbook that explains why you don’t have to be an expert to share your work， why you should share your progress before you’ve reached your ultimate outcome， and why you should be yourself， be vulnerable and above all else connect with likeminded people。Littered with inspiring quotes at the start of each chapter， Show Your Work will push you to share your progress online and unapologetically assume the position of an amateur✍️ Summary of Themes1。 The lone genius; endowed with creativity as if a divine force …is a total myth。 Kleon says that if you look back at history with a magnifying glass you’ll notice that these geniuses were part of a cohort of people supporting each other， contributing ideas and stealing ideas。 Creativity is always， in some way or another， a collaboration。 Though it was only touched on， this reminded me of the Derek Silver’s quote， “What seems obvious to you might be amazing to others。” Years later， outside of the aforementioned creative cohort of not-so-geniuses， people look to one or two of these and say ‘wow – they were so original’ but in the moment， the not-so-geniuses are all thinking， ‘why should I share my work when I don’t have any original ideas？’2。 Humans are all interested in the journey， not just the destination。 As King of Pop， Michael Jackson once said， “A lot of people are so used to just seeing the outcome of work。 They never see the side of the work you go through to produce the outcome。” The author implores us to start a work journal， keep a scrapbook， take photos at different stages of your process， record videos – whatever you need to do to Show Your Work at a later date。 He employs Disney’s Creative Director to insist that if you “put yourself， and your work， out there every day […] you’ll start meeting some amazing people。”3。 Vulnerability breeds connection。 Or as New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown put it: “In order for connection to happen， we have to allow ourselves to be seen—really seen。” This one got me。 I’ve been perfectly happy to show my work in the past。 Here’s an awesome coffee I made。 This is me on telly。 But in all of the past instances I’ve been hiding behind my employer， the singer， my guitar。 Kleon explains that personal stories make the complex more tangible， and bring warmth to concepts that can otherwise seem cold and lifeless。 This whole concept can be summed up by this mindblowingly satisfying and pithy quote from Jadah Sellner， “there are no unique messages， only unique messengers”。Read my full review here 。。。more
Abuturab
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# 🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences1。 You don't have to be a genius to share your thoughts and ideas2。 Now， let's face it: We're not all artists or astronauts。 A lot of us go about our work and feel like we have nothing to show for it at the end of the day。 But whatever the nature of your work， there is an art to what you do， and there are people who would be interested in that art， if only you presented it to them in the right way。3。 Sharing your work is one of the most powerful ways which you as a hum # 🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences1。 You don't have to be a genius to share your thoughts and ideas2。 Now， let's face it: We're not all artists or astronauts。 A lot of us go about our work and feel like we have nothing to show for it at the end of the day。 But whatever the nature of your work， there is an art to what you do， and there are people who would be interested in that art， if only you presented it to them in the right way。3。 Sharing your work is one of the most powerful ways which you as a human being can learn and valuate from。# 🎨 Impressions## How I Discovered ItI discovered through watching one of my favourite youtubers， Ali Abdaal， is his video *3 books that have changed my life* way back in 2019， however I wasn't really interested in buying it until recently when I wanted to start some sort of blog which he recommended in his video， *How writing online made me a millionaire，* and I finally bought and it has been one of the best purchases of my life。 ## Who Should Read it？Everyone。 I believe that everyone who wants to in some way share their work online or in real life should definetely。 Not only it will give you the guide to starting something， it it helps and overcome the negative thoughts and feelings along with it and help you overcome imposter syndrome。# 🍀 How the Book Changed MeHow my life / behaviour / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book。- This is one of the few books which has most change my life and I am going to explain。 Before reading this book， I wanted to kind of start writing and sharing my life on the internet， but as a student and a person， I had many imposter syndromes flying my head。 In my heart， I knew I wanted to do something， but the feeling and thoughts inside my brain would just not allow me to。 I would have the fears of what if people and my friends make fun of me， what if I lose all money， what if I hacked and how secure is the internet really， and what if I get judged and that I am not good enough。 Seeing other people on the internet who I have been following for years like Ali Abdaal， Thomas Frank， Nat Eliason， James Clear， Tim Ferris， all these sorts of people， would inspire me to start someway but I couldn't get over the fact of having too many worries。 But once I started reading through this book， all the thougths inside my feelings and head began fadding away one by one， like I was being controlled by a magician who was helping me get over my imposter syndrome。- The fact that I consumed all the lessons and knowledge in the book helped me realise that I can be part of the internet where I share my thoughts and ideas without worrying about others。 As one of the lessons which I learnt from reading Show Your Work， ist hat we all think that everyone is watching us and that they're constantly judging， but in reality， no-one gives a damn about what you're doing， starting a blog or Instagram page or even a Youtube channel。 People only care about themselves and are too busy worrying about themselves。 This really opened my eye up。 I realised now that I can start a blog， I can share my thoughts and ideas on my website without worrying about what my friends， family or other people think。- Honestly， having the lessons taught to you and helping you understand that you can *share your work* is absolutely mind-blowing。 I really feel that most people in the world should at least have some way of sharing their genius and creativity because 1， it will help you become more knowledgable， and 2， others will start doing the same for you and what terrible can happen to you if you do start some sort of sharing。# ✍️ My Top 3 Quotes1。 “Be so good they can’t ignore you。” If you just focus on getting really good， Martin says， people will come to you。 I happen to agree: You don’t really find an audience for your work; they find you。2。 “Find your voice， shout it from the rooftops， and keep doing it until the people that are looking for you find you。” — Dan Harmon3。 "Don’t think of your website as a self-promotion machine， think of it as a self-invention machine。" 。。。more
Gentlezerg
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This is what non fiction books should be like， short but still solid。 Many non fiction books have simple ideas but still take over 300 pages by just repeating itself over and over again。
Vadim
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Easy read and valuable information。 I really recommend it。
Vijay Bhaskar
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Great book。 Inspired me for starting my blog。 I'm definitely gonna show my work ✌️。 Thanks for amazing book 。 Great book。 Inspired me for starting my blog。 I'm definitely gonna show my work ✌️。 Thanks for amazing book 。 。。。more
Flavia Velcsov
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The most inspiring book I have read。 It gave me the necessary boost for starting my journey in art & design and also a lot of useful tips on how to share and grow。 I recommend it to anyone who is a creative person and is thinking about sharing some ideas online。
Vanessa Angelina
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Simple， cute， inspiring， and to the point。 Both an easy and motivating read。 And some points that gave me the kick I need。
Jason Wicky Ong
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I skimmed through the book。 It wasn't bad。 In fact， there were some parts which were interesting and unique。 The book is quite short and the title and chapter titles are quite self explanatory。 When you read an artist's work， they will tell you to focus on quality most of the time and that's beneficial for the artist most of the time。 But if you learn from an achiever， they will tell you that it's all about reaching out and getting the quantity。 So you have to judge for yourself which is more im I skimmed through the book。 It wasn't bad。 In fact， there were some parts which were interesting and unique。 The book is quite short and the title and chapter titles are quite self explanatory。 When you read an artist's work， they will tell you to focus on quality most of the time and that's beneficial for the artist most of the time。 But if you learn from an achiever， they will tell you that it's all about reaching out and getting the quantity。 So you have to judge for yourself which is more important in different scenarios。I think this book will inspire me to show more work but I don't really think I have to re-read it many times。 。。。more
Jaya Srivastava
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This book is amazing。 Would highly recommend it if you are looking into self-growth and inspiring your creativity！ The readers should also check out the other two books in the series i。e Keep Going and Steal like an artist by the same author。 All three books are fun to read， very relatable and short。
Petro Kacur
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I loved Kleon's Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative and the follow up workbook The Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs。 His short， punchy advice presented in a great visual format is a fresh burst of energy for creatives of all types。 This follow up is useful for its prompts to share the work you create。 A good reminder， but the ideas here are not as impactful as his first book。 Although I'd recommend subscribing to his newsletter I loved Kleon's Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative and the follow up workbook The Steal Like an Artist Journal: A Notebook for Creative Kleptomaniacs。 His short， punchy advice presented in a great visual format is a fresh burst of energy for creatives of all types。 This follow up is useful for its prompts to share the work you create。 A good reminder， but the ideas here are not as impactful as his first book。 Although I'd recommend subscribing to his newsletter and follow his Twitter handle if you want a regular dose of his thoughts。 Below are the ideas form this book that resonated with me:The word amateur comes from the French "lover" - so an enthusiast who pursues her work in the spirit of love。You find your voice by using it。Share your creative process。 Share something small every day。 Social media is a good way to do this。Give credit where it is due。Teach what you know。Kuckleball pitchers don't keep secrets。 They share their techniques。 They want to pass it on and keep the pitch alive。 By showing your work you'll find your fellow knuckleballers。Stop worrying about how many people follow you online and start worrying about the quality of people who follow you。 。。。more
Juhi Jain
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Really wanted to love this book （one of those books again which I started with very high expectations）！ And so I am quite confused about how I feel about this extremely short book which did not have the profound ideas that I was expecting。 Will give it 2 stars for now and revisit the rating later， if I find that it has impacted me more than I currently foresee！
Shevaun
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A delightful and refreshing book， for artists， writers， and any "content creator"。 The book has brilliant visuals and has rekindled the euphoria I once felt as an amateur creator （although I still am an amateur as Austin Kleon describes with the help of a quote from Charlie Chaplin :） A delightful and refreshing book， for artists， writers， and any "content creator"。 The book has brilliant visuals and has rekindled the euphoria I once felt as an amateur creator （although I still am an amateur as Austin Kleon describes with the help of a quote from Charlie Chaplin :） 。。。more
Eshika Aich
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Being an introvert， i'm afraid to share my words， my thoughts and feelings with others。 In this case， this book has helped me to understand that what I am doing does have value。 It's a book for new artists or authors who want to exposure， find their niche， find customers， connect with others， exchange ideas and aren't sure where to begin building their platform online。 It also walks through dealing with criticism & accepting that your work won't be glorious when you begin。 Being an introvert， i'm afraid to share my words， my thoughts and feelings with others。 In this case， this book has helped me to understand that what I am doing does have value。 It's a book for new artists or authors who want to exposure， find their niche， find customers， connect with others， exchange ideas and aren't sure where to begin building their platform online。 It also walks through dealing with criticism & accepting that your work won't be glorious when you begin。 。。。more
Riri
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After Ali （Abdaal） mentioned this book， I wanted to read it for a long time and never did until this month。 Ali broke it down nicely but I still wanted to read this book。 Especially， I haven't output my thoughts， or taken any action。 Lately， I've been reading more books than ever， and I think this action and this book will help me move onto the next step。 I'm grateful for the Internet in a way that I can show my work easier than before。 It's not too late to start to show my progress。 I haven't p After Ali （Abdaal） mentioned this book， I wanted to read it for a long time and never did until this month。 Ali broke it down nicely but I still wanted to read this book。 Especially， I haven't output my thoughts， or taken any action。 Lately， I've been reading more books than ever， and I think this action and this book will help me move onto the next step。 I'm grateful for the Internet in a way that I can show my work easier than before。 It's not too late to start to show my progress。 I haven't posted any review so far but I decided to write this out after finishing reading this book。 。。。more
Utsav Banerjee
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Very practice easy to understand concept for establishing your online present and being consistent with it。
Hitesh Singh
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Life gives you a lot of chances， but we hold ourselves back on a lot of occasions。 This book is a collection of different experiences and incidences， knitted by the author gracefully。 Austin Kleon gives 10 principles， which help you to show your work。 Personally I think， he is right on the point。If you think， you can not show you work because you are not a genius than go ahead and read it。It will give you a red bull push and you will start showing your work:）And yes a beautiful quote from this b Life gives you a lot of chances， but we hold ourselves back on a lot of occasions。 This book is a collection of different experiences and incidences， knitted by the author gracefully。 Austin Kleon gives 10 principles， which help you to show your work。 Personally I think， he is right on the point。If you think， you can not show you work because you are not a genius than go ahead and read it。It will give you a red bull push and you will start showing your work:）And yes a beautiful quote from this book"Above all， recognise that if you have had a success， you have also had luck-and with luck comes obligation。 You owe a debt， and not just to you gods。 Youowe a debt to unlucky" Michael Lewis Love and Peace。 。。。more
Justin Vera
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🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences The book is about being a documentarian on your own work then sharing this for the whole word to see。 The book highlights the importance of doing this as a beginner since you will more likely show more insight than an experienced professional。 The book also talks about the importance of having your own "turf" and how your story does not speak for itself。 🎨 Impressions I thought this book would not be very good for me since I already do a lot of documenting of my work b 🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences The book is about being a documentarian on your own work then sharing this for the whole word to see。 The book highlights the importance of doing this as a beginner since you will more likely show more insight than an experienced professional。 The book also talks about the importance of having your own "turf" and how your story does not speak for itself。 🎨 Impressions I thought this book would not be very good for me since I already do a lot of documenting of my work but it still gave me an insight on the importance of having your own domain and documenting when you are a beginner。 How I Discovered It Ali Abdaal Who Should Read It？ Everyone who is interested in building an audience such as bloggers， content creators， writers， authors， entrepreneurs， artists， film makers， etc。 This book can benefit people who are interested especially in building an audience online。 ☘️ How the Book Changed Me How my life / behaviour / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book。The book has taught me the importance of having my own domain and how my work does speak for itself and how you frame the story for someone determines how much they value your work。 This book also stresses the importance of documenting your own work which I frankly have not been doing enough of。 ✍️ My Top 3 Quotes " If you want a happy ending， that depends， of course， on where you stop your story。" Orson Welles， Author F。 Scott Fitzgerald "For artists， the great problem to solve is how to get oneself noticed。" - Honore De Balzac "The real risk is in not changing" - Saxophonist John Coltrane 。。。more
Lavana
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Great motivational book。 I loved it more as it is also a short read。 The main theme that the book revolves around is to share your work with the mass。 The benefits one can gain by doing so is beautifully described in this book。 Happy reading readers。
db
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Inspiring book that provides many， many ways to show more of your work to the world。
Abduvaqqos Tojiddinov
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