Show Your Work! summary

by Austin Kleon · 2014 · 7 key ideas · 17-minute read

Instead of self-promoting, share your process generously and consistently, and the right people will find your work.

Why read it

For creators, freelancers and professionals who hate the idea of 'marketing themselves'. It offers a friendlier alternative: be open about what you're learning and making, a little each day.

Show Your Work! in brief

Kleon wrote this as a sequel to Steal Like an Artist, aimed at people who hate self-promotion. His alternative is self-discovery in public: instead of only showing finished work, show your process, your influences and what you're learning, and let people find you through it.

He starts by dismantling the lone-genius myth. Good work comes from 'scenes' of people sharing and building on each other's ideas, and you can join one as an amateur, an enthusiastic learner rather than an expert. From there he urges you to think process, not product, and to share something small every day.

The middle chapters cover what to share and how: your cabinet of curiosities (the things that inspire you), good stories about your work, and what you know, by teaching it. He warns against becoming human spam who only broadcasts, and urges you to be a generous member of your community.

The final chapters prepare you for the consequences of being visible: criticism, trolls and money. Learn to take a punch, don't be afraid to sell your work, and above all stick around. Careers are built by people who keep showing up after both failures and successes.

The 7 key ideas

1. Join a scenius

You don't need to be a genius. Join a scenius.

2. Be an amateur

Learn out loud. That's what makes you worth following.

3. Think process, not product

Show the making, not just the made.

4. Share something small every day

Small daily flow becomes lasting stock.

5. Tell good stories, and teach

Tell the story. Teach the trick. Earn the trust.

6. Don't be human spam

Hearts, not eyeballs.

7. Take a punch, sell out, stick around

Finish one, light the next. Just don't leave.

Key takeaways

• Join a scene and contribute to it instead of trying to be a lone genius.
• Share what you're learning as an amateur, mistakes included.
• Document your process and share one small piece regularly.
• Tell stories about your work and teach what you know.
• Give more attention than you ask for; aim for real fans, not numbers.
• Start your next project before finishing the current one, and keep going.

Our take

Show Your Work! offers a humane, practical alternative to aggressive self-promotion, and its core ideas (share process, be generous, teach, stick around) have helped many creators build audiences. Like Kleon's other books it's short and slogan-driven, so it gives direction more than detailed strategy. It was written before the social web became dominated by algorithms and short video, and daily sharing can now feel like a treadmill that eats creative time. It also underplays privacy, burnout and the risk of sharing unfinished ideas in competitive fields. Read it as a mindset guide and adapt the rhythm to your own life.

About Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon is a writer and artist known for his Newspaper Blackout poems and for Steal Like an Artist, to which this book is a sequel. He frequently shares his own process through his blog and newsletter.

If you liked this

• Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
• The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
• On Writing by Stephen King