Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered

by Austin Kleon

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Self Help, Business, Design, Writing, Productivity

131 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2014

About the author

I’m a writer who draws. I make art with words and books with pictures. Author of Steal Like An Artist and other bestsellers. Visit my website: http://austinkleon.com/

Reviews

[Soplada]

:)

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started reading in my teenage years, thrillers and self-help books were my favorites. But reading too many books in these genres might have changed my outlook toward them. These books now consistently fail to excite me. Most of the thrillers aren't whimsical enough and self-help felt too repetitive and preachy for my liking. So I gradually shifted my focus to literary fiction and more poignant books.

But still, there are some extraordinary creations that I come across every now and then in this genre that simply amuses me. This book is one such one. I impulsively purchased all these three books many years ago from a bookstore as I was instantly attracted to the layout of these books. But sadly, I accidentally lost all these three books along with some others while shifting my home. Recently I purchased all three books again and took this one for reading instantly.

I simply loved the reading experience this book gave me due to three reasons
1) Crisp - One of the major problems that self-help books are facing now is the time the authors take to get into the proper subject. Austin Kleon has done a wonderful job of getting straight to the topic from the first page itself without wasting the time of the readers.

2) No Repetition - Most of the recent self-help books focus on one topic. The authors keep repeating the same thing from multiple angles to make the readers understand the concept thoroughly and increase the page count. Sometimes these repetitions become too intense and give the readers a dull experience. Barring one exception, I can't point out a single part repeated unnecessarily (the only exception is mentioned later in this review) in this book.

3) Layout - Writing a self-help book in this layout is a tricky one. The readers will understand the core theme of the book by just skimming through it. So if the author has not done brilliant work and is not confident about what he wrote for the book, this method can totally backfire as there is a chance that the readers might DNF the book just after five minutes of reading or won't even purchase the book. The author has written in a coruscating way and this layout perfectly complements the author's writing style. He never becomes officious or annoyingly preachy in any part of this book

This book will be a huge blessing for those who are artists or are planning to start their influencer journey on social media. If you feel the path lying ahead is onerous, I request you to kindly read this book. Please don't expect any extraordinary idea that will change your life from the very second you start reading it. But I guarantee you that you will at least get three simple ideas that you haven't thought of before, which will change your career as an artist or influencer journey in the best way possible in the long run.

What I learned from this book
1) How to write a blurb for a book?
This might appear silly, but this is one of the biggest plus points of this book.

Just look at the above photograph from this book's blurb. Every important content of this book is shared in the blurb. The author takes us deep into the book's core in the blurb itself. I haven't seen any author showing this much confidence in their work and sharing it all in the blurb itself. (This is a technique that authors should carefully manage while trying to implement it. It can work only in a few genres, including self-help, while it will totally backfire in some others. I have seen a couple of authors who wrote thrillers trying to do the same thing and totally destroying the overall reading experience.)

The author shows us how to show our work right from the blurb of this book.

“Open up your cabin of curiosities.”

2) Do you have to be an expert in something before sharing it online?
Social media doesn't work in that way. If you look at most of the influencers, they were not the best in the field when they started. They were just amateurs like others who had a passion for something. They bravely shared their work, the process behind the screen, and the effort behind their work. They might have made a lot of mistakes. They were never reluctant to admit their mistakes and take us along with them on their journey. It is not perfection that is the necessity for starting your influencer journey. It is passion and the readiness to work hard that makes a person a great influencer. The author has shared this idea in a brilliant manner in this book.

"Sometimes, amateurs have more to teach us than experts."

3) What is the number one rule of the internet?
If you are a content creator on the internet, the author gives you some basic advice that will be helpful to you.

"The number one rule of the Internet: People are lazy. If you don't include a link, no one can click it. Attribution without a link online borders on useless: 99.9 percent of people are not going to bother Googling someone's name."

4) How can you create your best resume?
The author says that the best way to create your resume is right at your fingertips, which most of you are sadly not utilizing. Your resume shouldn't be a two or three-page document but your whole social media accounts.

If you passionately share your work online, your whole social media accounts will become your resume by default.

"Imagine if your next boss didn't have to read your résumé because he already reads your blog. Imagine being a student and getting your first gig based on a school project you posted online. Imagine losing your job but having a social network of people familiar with your work and ready to help you find a new one. Imagine turning a side project or a hobby into your profession because you had a following that could support you.

You have to make stuff, said journalist David Carr when he was asked if he had any advice for students. "No one is going to give a damn about your résumé; they want to see what you have made with your own little fingers."

5) Have you ever wondered why most of the famous contemporary authors had begun their writing journey as book reviewers?
This is a trend we can see if we closely observe the careers of many successful authors. We can also see this trend in many other spheres of life. For example, most of the current pop singing sensations started their journey as cover song singers on YouTube. Some of them deleted their earlier content after they became successful. But I recently read a book about a celebrity where she said that she hadn't deleted any of her earlier works so that it would inspire others who are in the nascent stage of their career. I checked her social media account and was surprised to see a struggling artist's struggles laid bare before the public. We can see her brilliant evolution right before our eyes as time progressed in her account and how she became a famous celebrity now.

We can similarly see many critical reviews written by many famous contemporary authors on Goodreads before they started writing books. We can see the evolution in their writing skills and techniques before they became successful writers.

"Before we're ready to take the leap of sharing our own work with the world, we can share our tastes in the work of others."

6) What is a vampire test?
This is an idea that will help to identify and wipe out predators from your life so that you become more productive in it.

"Brancusi practiced what I call The Vampire Test. Its 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. Of course, The Vampire Test works on many things in our lives, not just people you can apply it to jobs, hobbies, places, etc.

Vampires cannot be cured. Should you find yourself in the presence of a vampire, be like Brancusi, and banish it from your life forever."

7) How should you deal with irritating people on social media?
If you are sharing your work on social media, you will obviously have to face criticism. You can see people who constructively criticize and sadistic people who just want to irritate you. The author brilliantly depicts ways we can handle them in this book.

"Do you have a troll problem? Use the Block button on social media sites. Delete nasty comments. My wife is fond of saying, "If someone took a dump in your living room, you wouldn't let it sit there, would you?" Nasty comments are the same--they should be scooped up and thrown in the trash."

My favourite three lines from this book

"Your stories will get better the more you tell them."

"If you want followers, be someone worth following."

"You just have to be as generous as you can, but selfish enough to get your work done."

What could have been better?
The author shares two different ideas about networking and connecting with a community in this book. In one part, he is saying to work hard and put the best content online; then, the right people will come to you to connect with you. In another part of this book, he says,

"If you are pointing to your own stuff online, you are doing it wrong. You have to be a connector."

He even paraphrases other writers like Blake Butler by mentioning the open mode. There is some truth in both the ideas the author is sharing. But he should have expressed his opinion rather than projecting these two ideas onto the readers, which might confuse them.

Rating
5/5 I haven't given a five-star rating for a self-help book for some time now (apart from a couple of favorite books, which I reread every once in a while). This book deserves five stars and I strongly recommend it to anyone who is a social-media influencer or is planning to become one soon in the future.

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[Pat Loughery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just finished Austin Kleon's previous book Steal Like an Artist, which I liked but didn't LOVE... I didn't expect anything different here. I mean, the book's exactly the same size and shape, the same layout, similar in approach. But this one hit me right between the eyes half a dozen times over.

I immediately started rereading this one, a library copy, and bought this one and Steal Like an Artist. I suspect that I didn't click with the first one because I read it too quickly and didn't really let it settle in. Or maybe it just speaks to a different stage of the artistic journey than I'm on. But Show Your Work... Oh, goodness. The second night I was reading it, I sat up four hours past my bedtime curating photo streams, removing the junk and the fluff, the "so what?" stuff that Austin speaks about. I kept in the stream photos of things-in-process, whether my new attempts at sketchnoting (and I'm NOT a drawing artist) or my attempts at yoga (I'm a middle-aged guy, inflexible and newb-like). I culled old photos of lattes and omelettes. I moved nearly two hundred photos of my family - fine snapshots, but not where I found creative inspiration for this stream - from my photo stream up to Facebook, where more folks are enjoying them as family photos anyway. Grandma and friends are there, not waiting on my photo streams. Four hours.

I also wrote six pages of journal notes, some by hand, some electronically; began to reshape my 9-year-old blog that I've left to die many times over. I revisited the great question of how I can find the metanarrative between all my distinct interests and outputs, to see what the main through-line is.

It's not just Show Your Work alone that sparked this - it was also much of David Whyte's poetry and lectures, as well as learning to doodle note and sketch note - but Kleon's book shaped and unblocked so much.

I can't recommend this book highly enough, and I'll be rereading Steal Like An Artist when my purchased copy of it shows up too.

[بثينة العيسى · Rating 3 out of 5]

التقيتُ في رحلتي الأخيرة إلى القاهرة عددًا من كتّاب الظل.. شخص يأتيني بعد الندوة ليهمسَ لي بأنه كتب نصًا ولا يدري ماذا يفعل بشأنه. أحدهم كان قد كتب رواية، وحكاية كوميك، وقصتي أطفال، ومجموعة قصصية، وقد تراكم إنتاجه في انتظار اللحظة السعيدة؛ إصدار كتب لنصوص لم يتم اختبارها في حقل التلقي.
ألتقي كتّاب وفناني الظل كل يوم، في الكويت والدمام، في بغداد وعمّان، في أي مدينةٍ أزورُها. كتّاب لا يعرفون، حتى، إن كانوا قد كتبوا أشياء جيدة.. لأنهم لم يختبروها قط.
إن كتّاب الظل، الذين يكتبون وحيدين وحالمين بأن يتم اكتشافهم، يثيرون في داخلي شعورًا بالأسى، لأنَّ الحقيقة المؤسفة، أنَّ دور النشر ليست مهتمة بالنشر لاسمٍ مجهول، ما لم ترافقه توصية «محبّة ومتحمّسة» من كتّاب وقراء آخرين، والحصول على توصية من هذا القبيل يستلزمُ أن تثير اهتمام الشخص الذي تحتاج توصيته، لكنّك لم تجعل نفسك مرئيًا طوال السنوات الماضية، وما ينقصك هو رصيد، أو «محفظة» إبداعية، بقدر ما تحتاج إلى تكوين حلقة من المتلقّين، تلقي النقد والتعرّض للإذلال والتصفيق مرارًا، الإتيان بعمل مدهش، توريط آخرين في تجربتك ومراحل تطورك.
المحزن، أن أحد كتّاب الظل هؤلاء قد يؤلّف عملًا بأهمية الأوديسة دون أن يحظى بفرصة أن يُقرأ في لجان النَّشر. لكن الحياة ليست عادلة؛ لم تكن عادلة قط، والأرجح أنها لن تكون كذلك، لذا ما عليك فعله هو أن تحسّن فرصك، وهذه ليست بالمهمة المستحيلة. فالساحة الثقافية الكويتية، مثلًا، ترقبت صدور رواية عبد الله الحسيني على امتداد خمس سنوات بسبب تعليقاته اللماحة على الكتب التي يقرأها في تويتر وفيسبوك، وعندما أصدر «باقي الوشم» هرعنا جميعًا لنرى ماذا كتب.
قد يشعر البعض بالغبنِ من فكرة أنَّ النص في ذاته غير كافٍ. لكنَّ الامتياز الحقيقي الذي يحظى به هذا الجيل هو انتفاء الحاجة إلى النشر في الدوريات التقليدية، والحصول على موافقة محرّر ذي محسوبيات، لكي يحصل على مربع يسع 250 كلمة.
لقد اختلفت الأمور، فلديك كل هذه المنصّات، وهي مجانية، وتمنحك المساحات التي تحتاجها، وإذا كنت قادرًا على لفتِ الأنظار، حتى لو كانت لأشخاص نوعيين وقلة، فالأغلب أنك لن تجد نفسك واقفًا آخر طابور طويل لتسأل كاتبك المفضل؛ لقد كتبتُ نصًا، ماذا بعد؟
يا سيدي، انشر فنّك. اصنع مدونة، أو حسابًا على أي منصة، وانشر فنّك، وافعل ذلك لمدة كافية حتى تصبح جاهزًا لإصدار كتاب وإقامة معرض أو مسرحية أو فيلم، سنوات من التحصيل والتطوّر والنكوص، من الحوارات المتدفقة حول العملية الإبداعية بفردوسها وجحيمها، إن لم تنجح هنا، تخيّل ما ستشعر به عندما يسلمك الناشر ألف نسخة من كتاب لم يرغب بقراءته أحد.

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الكتاب مفيد جدًا لكتّاب الظل، اقرأوه..

[Eoghann Irving · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm pretty much going to spend this review telling you everything wrong this book and the whole genre. Because if ever there's a book that embodies the genre Show Your Work is it.

Despite that, you may want to consider buying the book. Because while Austin Kleon really doesn't offer a single new idea, it is possible that his amiable presentation of the ideas will trigger you to act on them. In short, the emperor has no clothes, but it may not matter.

It's a Quick Read

Which translates to, this is a small book. Don't let the 224 pages full you, the book has a lot of illustrations so the pages fly by. I read it in three days in between reading parts of three other books. It doesn't take long at all to consume the information presented here.

Austin Kleon's writing style is fairly basic but pleasant enough. He does a solid job of explaining what he means, if you were in any doubt about it.

But one of the reasons it's such a quick read is that there is very little substance backing up these basic ideas that he is presenting. He gives you the concept but doesn't present any methods of execution. I guess that is left as an exercise for the reader.

Honestly I've only ever read maybe three how-to/self-help books that I would say actually helped me. In each case those books gave specifics, not generalizations. The industry however is very much built on genericization and that's exactly what we have here.

Quotes From People Who Know

The book is packed with quotes from successful people (who all also happen to be active on the internet) and surprise surprise they generally agree with Austin's approach.

The idea obviously is to reinforce Austin's message. But it's a bit misleading because he never gives an opposing viewpoint any page time. If you read this book you'll come away thinking that all successful creative people take the same broad approach which, factually, they don't.

The other problem is it relies on a popular logical fallacy. The notion that since someone is successful they know why they are successful. In truth though, most do not actually know this. They can speculate but they have no way to know what level of success they would have achieved taking a different approach.

It's a common technique in how-to books and there's a certain used-car salesman feel to this level of hard sell (particularly when I've already got the book).

Where's The Beef?

If you skim the sample available on Amazon (which is very brief and mostly contains the contents pages) you'll see the titles of the chapters (the 10 ways) and those titles pretty much tell you what you're going to get in each chapter.

The problem is there's really not a lot more substance on offer. Kleon explains the why of each idea, but he really doesn't go into how. And for me at least, the how is the bit that really matters. This is the bit where, almost invariably, how-to books fall down.

Instead of wasting page after page with content free quotes, how about actually mapping out some examples of putting a plan into action?

A Collection of Tweets

The author mentions at one point that the origin of this volume is in a series of tweets. It shows.

I don't actually have an issue with any of the ten ideas (though I'm not doing the meet in real life thing ever) but as presented here they are completely unconnected.

There's no flow to the book. No sense of one element building on the next until at the end you have a plan. Instead... here's a thought. Here's another thought. Here's a third thought.

So it's shallow, disjointed and really not remotely original. And yet it's being gushed over. So, if nothing else, it should encourage you that utilizing this approach to publicity can work for a creator.

Who Is This For?

Are you struggling with or new to social media?
Do you want to promote yourself and your creations but have no idea how?
Are you looking for a quick read that hits the high points of the accepted wisdom on how to do this?
Do you just need something to spark your own ideas?
This one might be for you.
Did You Like It?

No, not really. I found it frustrating and overly shallow. I can honestly say there wasn't a single idea in there I hadn't heard before. It's nicely presented, but I don't understand the rave reviews. I might have felt a little more lenient if it hadn't been so heavily recommended.

[Hamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

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I saw this book while watching a Youtube channel and I was curious to what is it about. I am just a person who struggles with self-confidence and don’t like to show off things I do so the title just felt like a slap to the face!

The good thing is that book was surprisingly about writing and authors too, in addition to art, business and all kind of stuff. The book is easily read within one hour but I think it kind of motivated me to be afraid less and be proud more of what I do. The book won’t drastically change my life and most of the things it mentions are logical things but it was kind of good to read these things!

The book uses examples and points and drawings which make it very digestible and fun to read! I Hope I do apply some of the things I learned here.

[Maria Clara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rutina, en eso consiste la mayoría de nuestros días. Ya sabes, levantarse, trabajar, comer, trabajar, cenar y dormir. Pero también nos aporta estabilidad. Seguridad. Después de todo, la rutina no es más que más de lo mismo pero con la oportunidad de hacerlo diferente. Es como si tuvieras la oportunidad de revivir un mismo día múltiples veces, hasta convertirlo en algo mágico. Único. Y eso no es otra cosa que arte.⠀
Dime:¿qué habría pasado si Leonardo Da Vinci no hubiera pintado la sonrisa de la Gioconda porque estaba cansado de pintar todos los días o porque, maldita sea, ya podía sonreír la modelo, joder? Sin duda, su obra no sería la misma. Así es la rutina. Hay que trabajarla hasta conseguir que nos sonría. Todos los días. O, en su defecto, hacerlo nosotros. ¿Y qué mejor manera de conseguirlo que divirtiéndonos?⠀
Hace unos días descubrí el trabajo de este artista, @austinkleon, y ahora soy una fiel seguidora de su metodología: habla, enseña y diviértete. Tres verbos salpicados de magia que convierten mi día a día en algo nuevo, único. ⠀
Ahora vuelvo a ensuciarme las manos con rotuladores, lápices de colores y pegamento. Expreso mis ideas de mil maneras diferentes y pruebo una y otra vez hasta conseguir el efecto o el resultado que quiero. Escribo sueños, galaxias enteras. Escribo dejándone llevar, sin normas ni restricciones ni cortapisas. Escribo aceptando mi voz y mi manera de ver el mundo. Escribo con pluma, con bolígrafos y lápices de carbón. Escribo en la cafetería, en el bar y en la librería. Escribo en las notas del móvil, en el ordenador y en los márgenes de los libros. Mi rutina es la magia, la creatividad, la tinta y el color.

[Swati Tanu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Show Your Work is a personal declaration on how to complete any type of creative work. If you do anything that involves personal expression – which is pretty much everything – Kleon's perspective on performing the career you love will motivate you. Anyone involved in the creative process should read this book.

It's a tiny, lovely book with flowcharts within. It's short enough to read in one sitting. It lays out methods to think about your work as a never-ending process, how to grow an audience by sharing that process, and how to deal with the ups and downs that come with putting yourself and your work out there in the world in ten short chapters:

1. You don’t have to be a genius.
2. Think process, not product.
3. Share something small every day.
4. Open up your cabinet of curiosities.
5. Tell good stories.
6. Teach what you know.
7. Don’t turn into human spam.
8. Learn to take a punch.
9. Sell out.
10. Stick around.

It shifted my perspective on sharing information on the internet. Encouraged me to post more frequently and with less decoding wait. It made me feel more at ease about sharing my thoughts and work on the internet. It made me feel more at ease about putting myself "out there."

You might like to wander through a few artistic journals — they’re full of sparks and surprises.

[Shannon Yarbrough · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Austin's first book, Steal Like an Artist, and did exactly what he told me, including buying extra copies of his book and giving it to all my friends. As a writer and an artist, his advice is simple, inspiring, and fun to follow. I still use that book as a reference when I need a pick-me-up.

His new book, Show Your Work!, feeds the need for those of us who wanted more! It's the same format - quick chapters with full page black and white photos, quotes from famous folks that you will be pinning to your studio walls,lots of his newspaper blackout phrases, and the same simple noteworthy advice that Kleon is so good at!

Building off of his first book, Kleon encourages the artist, writer, or anyone creative to dig a bit deeper to reach their audience. He teaches you how to introduce yourself at a party, how not to be human spam, to tell good stories, to share something small everyday, to build a mailing list. But then there are good life lessons like stepping away from what you are doing, or starting over, teach what you know, think process not product, and so much more.

If you are looking for a step-by-step how-to guide to getting rich and famous at novel writing or art selling, this isn't it. But if you want a fun cheerleader-type book chocked full of good advice that's to the point and easy to follow, Kleon is your man. This book would make a great gift for the artist in your life, if you aren't one yourself.

But as an artist or writer, you have to follow through! Follow him on Twitter, do the little things he suggests, scratch each others' backs, and show your work! It really works - removing the stress from your creativity and helping you to step back and see the bigger picture! I always feel energized and ready to dive in after reading his books.

And I will definitely be buying extra copies to share with my artist friends, and am already anxiously waiting for the next one! Kleon calls himself a writer who draws; he's also a genius!

[AK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kleon seems like a nice guy, so I hate saying this, but I have no idea why this is a book. "Put your work on the internet, and try not to be too annoying about it. Then people will see your work, know you exist, and not be too annoyed by you." The end.

[Donalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, smart, observant. So much of what Kleon writes resonates with me as a writer who blogs and tweets. Great ideas about building your tribe and sharing ideas.

[Rozhan Sadeghi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Not by any means a bad book but the material wasn't just new for me. So if it didn't work for me doesn't mean it wouldn't work for you.

[Mohammad Shaker · Rating 1 out of 5]

“90 percent of everything is crap” the author writes. And so is 90 percent of this book.

I like deep work. This book is all about what leads to a shallow work. Maybe I’m against a lot of stuff in this book. Maybe I matured. Maybe I’ve grown up and don’t like these kind of books anymore. Maybe I should just draw a point and go to actual, real, deep work.

Oh but wait. Maybe I should share this review on twitter?

[Ahmad Sakr · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب مهم جدا لكل من يقدم فنا بشكل أو بآخر.. حتى لو كان الفن منتج يباع أو خدمة بشكل ما
كثيرا ما أجد أشخاص دون المستوى أكثر نجاحا من أشخاص أكثر تميزا منهم بكثر.. والسبب ببساطة هو أن الأول.. ينشر فنه
أنا شخصيا وأثناء بداياتي في مجال عملي الحالي (كمصمم موشن جرافيك).. حصلت على فرص عمل جيدة نتيجة لأنني كنت انشر بعض الأعمال حينما رأيت انها تستحق النشر مقارنة بأعمال أخرى.. هناك أساليب أخرى ذكرها الكتاب حتى لو كنت تظن أن عملك دون المستوى.. فما تظنه انت أحيانا غير جيد ربما يكون مناسب جدا للبعض.. بصفة عامة الكتاب جميل وبه العديد من الوسائل والطرق الجيدة.. لكن دعني أعطيك نصيحة لن يعطيها لك الكتاب.. الإتقان هو الأساس.. ولا تظن أن النشر والدعايا بدون وجود أساس قوي لما تنشره سيحقق لك النجاح.. ولكن حافظ على الأمرين.. أن تتقن.. وأن تنشر ما تنقن أولا بأول

[Kaiti Yoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and sweet and so easy to read. Wow! Blown away at how relevant and direct this book applies to me. It definitely changed my life and may surpass that Anything you Want by Derek Sivers book (that I want to re-read now) that originally took third place in my top three books of all time.

It replenished my creative motivation and reminded me why it's important to stay connected, generous, and open in order to stay creative.

[Alfredo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curti bastante a leitura! Comprei vários livros sobre criatividade e estou amando lê-los. Esse aqui me deu várias ideias que já comecei a colocar em prática.

Tirei uma estrela porque senti que alguns momentos mereciam um pouco mais de atenção do autor. E também por trechos do livro que me fizeram pensar: "sério mesmo que tô lendo isso?" (como o do cara que agradeceu por ter sido esfaqueado kkk)

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

الغلاف تحفة وبسيطة وألوانه حلوة 😍

حجم الكتاب حلو، مبهج جدا وصغير

طريقة العرض جميلة، الخطوط المستخدمه والصور، كل حاجه عجبتني وطلعت منه بترشيحات ل كتب تانيه

انصح بيه جدا لاي حد، لغته الانجليزيه سهله 😍

[Christine Zibas · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Whatever we say, we're always talking about ourselves." -- Alison Bechdel.


And I could add, whenever we talk, we're always telling stories. Why do we write or make art or pursue creativity of any sort? The answer? To be more ourselves, to show who we are, to make a connection, to find our tribe.

Austin Kleon, the author of this book is a "writer who draws" and in sharing himself here, he takes his readers deep into the element of connecting. In particular, he offers up suggestions of how to get your work out there. He's an advocate of using the tools of the day (aka social media) to #ShowYourWork, while also learning to "take a punch" (survive the criticism that naturally comes from putting yourself out there) and avoiding the harmful trolls.

This is a very short book that you'll want to begin rereading immediately after you finish. Sometimes you don't need to say a lot to say something profound. That's what you'll find here. If you don't get any inspiration from reading this book, I'd check your pulse.

[Manar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A logical and authentic representation of how modern problems require modern solutions.
This wasn't the kind of book that usually attracts my attention, I came across it through a YouTube recommendation and I got excited to start it immediately. it was fun to read and it got all my attention. written in a direct, brief, and non-repetitive way this short book is suitable for everyone, if you want to start your new artistic job or you just struggle to share your simple daily attempts to create, you will get a good and simple perspective out of this book.

Sharing your work is not the final step that you have to take only when you have finished all the work but it's a part of the never-ending process of working and learning and this book gives some key points on finding the right place for sharing your work and on staying connected with people who have similar interests.

[Hestia Istiviani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read and write this review in Bahasa Indonesia

Sudah cukup lama setelah aku baca buku Kleon yang pertama, Steal Like An Artist, akhirnya keturutan juga membli buku yang kedua, Show Your Work. Masih tidak jauh berbeda dengan yang sebelumnya, Kleon mampu menuturkan hal-hal yang ada di otaknya mengenai "mempromosikan diri" dengan cara yang sangat mudah.

Gaya Bahasa, Kosakata, dan Penyampaian
Kalau pernah membaca Steal Like An Artist edisi berbahasa Inggris, pasti sebagian besar mengatakan bahwa bahasa penuturannya bisa diikuti sembari santai membaca. Begitu pula dengan yang edisi terjemahan. Aku suka karena tidak mengubh feel Kleon dalam buku ini. Kosakatanya sudah dipastikan tidak ada yang membuat dahi berkerut. Gaya penyampaian yang menyenangkan, bahkan mungkin di beberapa poin pembaca akan berpikir "serius nih, begitu caranya?". Intinya, aku suka dengan bagaimana buku ini membungkus pesan Kleon. Menarik!

Tata Letak dan Desain
Masih sama dengan Steal Like An Artist, buku Kleon kali ini juga masih bermain dengan warna hitam dan putih saja. Buku ini memiliki keseimbangan antara gambar dengan tulisan. Ditambah pula dengan kehadiran kutipan-kutipan yang selalu ada di bagian pembuka bahasan. Tidak ada satu halamanpun yang bagiku membuat sakit mata (yah, warnanya hanya hitam dan putih saja). Nyaman untuk dibaca bahkan sambil berbaring santai di atas kasur.

Isi Buku
show Your Work adalah buku "memasarkan dirimu melalui karya". Aku rasa dari semua pembaca pasti pernah menemukan orang-orang yang mengunggah foto apa yang sedang dikerjakan atau bercerita mengenai pekerjaannya yang menyenangkan. Aku sendiri sering menemukan orang-orang tersebut terutama melalui akun twitterku. Kadang aku merasa kalau hal tersebut adalah cara yang buruk untuk membuat orang memperhatikanmu. Tapi ternyata Kleon malah berkata sebaliknya. Membiarkan orang lain mengetahui prosesmu bekerj dalam sebuah proyek ternyata bisa membuat kita semakin diperhatikan, apalagi jika hasil akhir pekerjaan itu juga mengagumkan. Orang lain akan lebih cepat menyadarimu.

Kleon juga menyatakan bahwa tidak ada yang salah dengan menjadi seorang yang amatir. Bahkan Chaplin dan Cobain juga mengatakan kalau mereka berdua adalah orang yang amatir. Filosofinya ialah dengan menjadi amatir kita menjadi terus belajar dan tanpa sadar kita bisa hapal dengan semua yang sudah pernah kita pelajari.


---
Semua hal yang disampaikan oleh Kleon memiliki poin unik. Seperti yang sudah aku sebutkan tadi, bisa saja pembaca merasa agak aneh dengan saran-saran yang disampaikan Kleon. Kembali lagi, karena Kleon menulis dari sisi seniman yang menggunakan "aturan" sebagai "petunjuk" semata, bukan sebagai "larangan". Lebih mengasyikkan membaca buku ini ketimbang membaca buku cara memasarkan diri yang lain yang biasa kamu temukan di toko buku. Dan tanpa sadar, tiba-tiba kamu sudah berada di halaman terakhir.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent primer on self-promotion for artists. I have to admit that I picked it up with some skepticism, just as I did with Steal Like an Artist. This follow-up has the same slick look about it, with Kleon's subtractive poetry and ample quotes from other artists. But, just as with the other book, as soon as I started reading, I was sold on it. I loved what this book had to say.

The Goodreads summary covers the bullet points well, but what I liked most was his emphasis on how to make quality connections. A huge number of followers really means nothing if they don't care about what you do. It's about being part of a community, more than creating a network. After all, you create things because you are a fan. Find the other fans and you will find your audience, too. This approach meshes perfectly with the first book. Here, he shows how to make it possible for other artists to "steal" from you. Brilliant.

It's by no means exhaustive, but I feel like these suggestions will set an artist on the right path. It will be much better than shouting into the twitter void hourly about how your book is available at Amazon for 99 cents. (I cannot believe how many people seem to think this is a good idea.)

[María Ángeles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho y ha caído en dos días.
Te aconseja pasos muy sencillos y que pueden sacarse por lógica, pero el verlo escritos y todos unidos, hacen que tengan mucha más entidad y te lo tomes como una especie de "procedimiento".
Mi tip favorito: "Comparte algo pequeño cada día". Me ha parecido muy motivador y creo que sigue una línea muy real, que ojalá yo misma pueda llevar acabo.
Una página de preguntas me ha dado una idea genial para el blog que esperar poner en práctica.
Y por último: Amor total por los libros de la editorial Gustavo Gili. Sólo tengo tres en mi biblioteca personal pero... ¡los quiero todos!

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was younger, I thought that if I just wrote the perfect story, people would love it, I would be discovered, and then I'd have it made. That hasn't worked out the way I planned. I've come around to Austin Kleon's way of thinking: I love the encouragement to share my work as I'm doing it, rather than hoarding it until it's polished and perfect.

The book is breezy and short, but I found nuggets of inspiration. I'm eager to put some of his advice into effect and see if it makes a difference.

[Seyfeddin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doğru zamanda okunduğunda müthiş bir kitap. Eğer siz de bir zanaat / sanat yapıyorsanız ve yeterince kendinizi gösteremediğinizi düşünüyorsanız, bu kitap size ilaç gibi gelecektir.

Bu kitabı ilk olarak dijitalinden okumuştum, şimdi fizikselini aldım. Yaptığınız işi paylaşmanın, anlatmanın ne kadar önemli olduğunu örnekleriyle, lafı uzatmadan anlatıyor. Dijital çağda göz önünde olabilmek için mutlaka işleri, süreçleri paylaşmak gerekiyor.

1,5 saatten kısa sürede bitirdim, muhtemelen yaza doğru tekrar okuyacağım.

[Kamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب مهم جدًا لأي حد بيعمل أي إبداع وبيحتفظ بيه لنفسه عشان مش شايفه يستحق النشر.

[Sanjay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and crisp guidelines on how and why to show your art.

[Nyamka Ganni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ёоох. Унших явцдаа л бөөн бөөн эрч хүч авлаа шд.
Тэгье бичээд өгье! Яг одооноос эхлээд өгье гэмээр л. Бичих бүтээлч ажлыг хийх нь чухал ч түүнийгээ бусдад үзүүлж байх нь зүйтэй гэдгийг үнэнхүү үр дүнтэйгээр ятгаж гардаг тийм хөөрхөн ном байна. Зүгээр нэг ятгахгүй хажуугаар нь уран цэцэн ятгана гэж байгаа 🤣
👍👍👍

Миний хувьд уншсан номнуудынхаа тэмдэглэл, сэтгэгдлүүдээ багахан гэхгүй тогтмол бичиж байхаар шийдлээ. 💪

[Rachel (Into a Story) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anytime I need some inspiration or encouragement in my creative endeavors, I turn to Austin Kleon. His words get me so pumped up and inspired, and his books never let me down.

[Vojtěch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chápu, je tam mnohdy až moc obecných rad, ale jsou strašně dobře podané (alespoň pro mě). Kniha, která mi byla od začátku čtení (a nejspíš ještě po nějakou dobu bude) takovou malou učebnicí, která je rozhodně lepší než jakákoliv školní učebnice. Austin Kleon podle mě odvedl dobrou práci a svojí knihou dokáže bezpochyby plno lidí namotivovat. Pro mě je třeba velké zjištění, že mnoho lidí opravdu nezajímá až tak moc výsledek, ale samotný proces (již vyzkoušeno). Proto patří autorovi dík a já jdu opět ukázat, co dělám.

[Nguyên ngộ ngộ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ban đầu không ưa cái thể loại này vì cái tiêu đề hơi lố: PR BẢN THÂN.
Thường thì bản thân không cần PR quảng cáo, nghĩ đơn giản là nếu có gì đó hay ho thì sẽ nổi tiếng.
Suy nghĩ đó đúng chứ, nên cũng đâu có ý định đọc cuốn này làm gì.
Mà vì có quá nhiều review cho quyển này trên amazon và goodreads
Mình nhất quyết đọc nó.
Một luồng suy nghĩ mới tác giả thổi vào đầu mình.

Cuốn sách dành cho những ai GHÉT PR BẢN THÂN.
Nghe thấy ngược với tiêu đề sách.
Cuốn sách nói về HÀO PHÒNG CHIA SẺ CÔNG VIỆC BẠN ĐANG LÀM,
để từ đó KẾT NỐI ĐƯỢC NHỮNG NGƯỜI CÙNG SỞ THÍCH,
tạo ra được MẠNG LƯỚI,
và cuối cùng, HỌ SẴN SÀNG GIÚP ĐỠ, ỦNG HỘ NGƯỢC LẠI BẠN,
vì họ biết, nhớ GU của bạn
thông qua những gì BẠN CHIA SẺ.
Gút lại, bạn MẠNH DẠN CHIA SẺ, rồi có một cộng đồng nho nhỏ, rồi cộng đồng ấy giúp ngược lại bạn vì họ biết gu của ban.
Cho nên, tác giả gửi gắm thông điệp.
Mạnh dạn chia sẻ công việc của mình.

1. Mình ko phải tìm người ủng hộ sp, họ tự tìm tới mình. Miễn là nằm trong vùng “dễ tìm kiếm”
2. Thay vì lãng phí thời gian gầy dựng MẠNG LƯỚI MỐI QUAN HỆ, họ tận dụng internet để chia sẻ, như con gà gáy ò ó o, và những người xung quanh nghe tiếng gáy đó và kết nối với họ
3. Những người HIỂU RÕ BẠN ĐANG LÀM GÌ, thì họ dễ dàng giới thiệu những thứ liên quan, cùng sở thích cho bạn
4. Một cộng đồng những người cùng sở thích, giúp đỡ nhau, quan sát sản phẩm của nhau, sao chép ăn cắp nhau, và đóng góp nhau
5. Ghim vào nhận thức BỨC VẼ LÀ DANH TỪ, nhưng VẼ là ĐỘNG TỪ. Chia sẻ quá trình vẽ, để rồi mọi người biết sở thích của mình, mối quan tâm của mình, từ đó có cộng đồng giúp đỡ. Nôm na là cho họ nhìn lén hậu trường của mình. Hì hì
6. Làm điều này cùng giúp MÌNH NHÌN QUÁ TRÌNH LÀM VIỆC RÕ RÀNG HƠN.
7. Gửi đi thông điệp mỗi ngày, ở kênh phù hợp. Doanh nhân thích Linkle, nhà làm phim thích vimeo, you ttube…. Chọn MXH phù hợp
8. Tôi thích làm việc khi thế giới đang ngủ, và thích chia sẻ khi thế giới đang làm việc
9. Thông điệp gửi đi ra ngoài, thì nhớ qua bài test: CÓ CÁI QUÁI GÌ ĐẶC BIỆT KO?
10. Để có thông điệp, thì cần TÍCH TRỮ TRỮ LƯỢNG ý tưởng nhỏ nhỏ mỗi ngày. Từ ý tưởng, thành câu từ, từ câu từ thành bài báo, từ bài báo thành chương sách.
Tích trữ về lượng, tạo thay đổi về chất
11. Đọc là nguyên liệu cho viết, và viết là nguyên liệu cho đọc
12. “Tuyển tập các tác phẩm chính là tấm gương phản ánh tài năng của bạn” – DJ Spooky
13. Cởi mở và chân thành về những gì bạn thích là cách tốt nhất để kết nối với những người có sở thích giống bạn
14. Luôn để nguồn tham khảo? Vì sao, vì sao? Vì đó là cách tôn trọng độc giả, giúp họ CÓ NGUỒN ĐÀO SÂU THÊM THÔNG TIN. Đừng chia sẻ thử bạn không thể trích rõ nguồn.
15. Để kể chuyện hay, cần biết KỊCH BẢN CÂU CHUYỆN.
Kịch bản của Dan Harmon: (1) một nhân vật trong vùng an toàn, (2) nhưng họ muốn có thứ gì đó, (3) họ bước vào một cảnh không quen thuộc, (4) thích nghi với nó, (5) có được thứ họ muốn, (6) họ trả một cái giá khá đắt để có được nó, (7) trở về với hoàn cảnh quen thuộc, (8) họ đã thay đổi.
Cái này giống clip WHAT MAKES A HERO, rất thâm cho vòng đời một con người
Có nhiều kịch bản viết, nhưng thích kịch bản kiểu nà.
KỊch bản của Dan Roam là dùng 6W
16. Bạn phải TỰ VIẾT RA CÂU CHUYỆN CỦA RIÊNG MÌNH!
17. Nhưng có CÁCH NÀO ĐỂ KỂ CHUYỆN CHƯA HỒI KẾT?
18. Bạn làm nghề gì! Tôi là một nhà văn biết vẽ
Bạn làm nghề gì! Sáng tôi bán hàng online, chiều tối tôi tập vẽ kể chuyện.
19. DÙ NÓI GÌ ĐI CHĂNG NỮA, CHÚNG TA CŨNG ĐANG LUÔN NÓI VỀ BẢN THÂN – Alison Bechdel
20. Khi ai đó nhận ra họ được lắng nghe, họ sẽ kể cho bạn nhiều thứ. – Nhà văn Richard Ford
21. Nếu muốn trở nên thú vị, bạn phải thấy HỨNG THÚ trước đã. – Lawrence Weschler
22. Tìm kiếm những người giống bạn, rồi bạn sẽ tìm được hội nhóm của mình
23. Tích cực gặp mặt chạm mặt.
Tác dụng lớn nhất của internet ư. Đó là CHÚNG TA ĐƯỢC NGỒI ĐÂY.
Gặp mặt họ ở đâu?
Nếu họ muốn du lịch, mời về quê mình
Nếu họ là nhà văn, mời đi hiệu sách
Còn không mời ăn trưa, mời café…
24. “Từ bỏ suy nghĩ rằng đồng tiền làm hỏng khả năng sáng tạo”. Mario Puzo viết tác phẩm Bố Già để kiếm tiền. Khi đó ông 45 tuổi, quá chán ngán với vai trò nghệ sĩ, lại đang nợ nần họ hàng, nhà băng, người làm sách và nợ kẻ cho vay nặng lãi tới 20.000 đô la
25. Mẹ!!! Mọi người đều nói họ muốn nghệ sĩ kiếm được tiền, nhưng khi nghệ sĩ kiếm được tiền, mọi người lại ghét họ!
“Chúng tôi không làm phim để kiếm tiền, chúng tôi kiếm tiền để làm nhiều phim hơn nữa” Walt Disney
26. Cuốn sách này bao nhiêu
5$
Sao mắc vậy!
Thế cuộc sống đáng giá bao nhiêu?
27. Nguồn ý tưởng: mỗi tháng một lần, tôi để mọi người hỏi thứ họ muốn trên website và cố nghĩ ra câu trả lời sâu sắc để đưa lên mọi người cùng đọc
28. 7 năm nghỉ phép 1 năm. – Stefan Sagmeister.
2 năm chuẩn bị cho 1 năm nghỉ phép đó
Ý tưởng trong 1 năm nghỉ phép đó là nguồn sống cho 7 năm làm việc tiếp theo
29. Thông điệp cuối:
“Kết cục câu chuyện có tốt đẹp hay không, phụ thuộc vào việc bạn đặt dấu chấm hết cho câu chuyện ở đâu” – Diễn viên Orson Welles.

Reviewed by Nguyen Ngo Ngo