Paperback, 224 pages
English language
Published Feb. 26, 2014 by Workman Publishing Company, Inc..
A book for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion, Show Your Work! is the followup to my New York Times bestselling guide to creativity, Steal Like An Artist. If Steal was a book about stealing influence from others, Show is about influencing others by letting them steal from you.
In ten tight chapters, I lay out ways to think about your work as a never-ending process, how to build an audience by sharing that process, and how to deal with the ups and downs of putting yourself and your work out in the world:
This book is not just for “creatives”! Whether you’re an artist …
A book for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion, Show Your Work! is the followup to my New York Times bestselling guide to creativity, Steal Like An Artist. If Steal was a book about stealing influence from others, Show is about influencing others by letting them steal from you.
In ten tight chapters, I lay out ways to think about your work as a never-ending process, how to build an audience by sharing that process, and how to deal with the ups and downs of putting yourself and your work out in the world:
This book is not just for “creatives”! Whether you’re an artist or an entrepreneur, a student or a teacher, a hobbyist or a professional, it’s time to stop worrying and start sharing.
Very quick read, but every sentence is punched with important info or an actionable step. Gave clarity on how to show my work (really fitting book name) and building your presence online without getting into the realm of actually advertising. Interested in reading the other books in this series.
I am not a productivity enthusiast and have never finished a productivity book, except for this one. I think that says something about the book.
Very very short but some good tips
This book worked a treat, I'm convinced I have to share more stuff and have even drafted some rough ideas on how I might do it.
Now to see if I actually do anything...
Speedy, thinky, inspiring. Austin Kleon has done it again!
This book doesn't work for me.
It's wonderfully illustrated, and the advice is quite good.
On the other hand, the "actual actions to take" are scattered in the content of each chapter. And I'm missing some sort of framework that integrates the 10 ways into a cohesive mental model of showing my work.
Muito bom, não me impactou tanto quanto o "Roube", mas mesmo assim foi bem valioso. Também é uma leitura rapidinha com muitas imagens, e é desses que é bom de ler de novo às vezes pra lembrar
Short, punchy, enjoyable. A book of advice that doesn't belabor the point but makes the point. A plethora of quotes and anecdotes, some of which have really stayed with me. Love it!
I found the first book "Steal Like An Artist" good, but I already knew the stuff. I borrowed "Show Your Work!" from the library and found it much more useful for where I'm at, at the moment. As with so many people, I find it really hard to share my work or self-promote (or to even think about it. or to even think about thinking about it.) and so I've noted down so many suggestions from this book. Which is really cool.
I have one piece of constructive criticism though: both of the books felt very men-men-men. It seemed like most of the quotes and references were from/about men, and there were a few other things (like a quote that has the phrase "new girl in the whorehouse") that made me feel like there will be other books I can find to buy that are more ... pro-women?
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. …
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.
Austin Kleon does a pretty great job of straddling the line between anecdotal motivational bullshit and practical advice for people who are nervous about letting their work be seen by the wider world. It's inspirational in all the right ways.
