Show Your Work!: Difference between revisions
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== Introduction == |
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''Show Your Work!'' is a compact guide to sharing creative work and building an audience by treating creativity as an open, ongoing process. First published by Workman Publishing on 6 March 2014, the trade paperback runs 224 pages and presents ten short, illustrated chapters that outline practical ways to document and share your process responsibly. <ref name="WorkmanPB">{{cite web |title=Show Your Work! |url=https://workman.com/titles/austin-kleon/show-your-work/9780761178972/ |website=Workman Publishing Company |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="GoogleBooks">{{cite web |title=Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Show_Your_Work.html?id=fM0kAgAAQBAJ |website=Google Books |publisher=Workman Publishing Company |date=6 March 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> |
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'''''Show Your Work!''''' is a compact, illustrated guide to sharing creative work as an open process, laying out ten short chapters that range from “Share something small every day” to “Stick around.” <ref name="WorkmanPB" /> |
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Published by Workman on 6 March 2014 in trade paperback (224 pages), it argues that “generosity trumps genius” and mixes quotes, stories, and examples with Kleon’s drawings. <ref name="WorkmanPB" /> |
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The book frames audience-building as joining a collaborative “scenius” and teaches readers to document process, give credit, and avoid becoming “human spam” online. <ref name="PW20140113">{{cite web |title=Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780761178972 |website=Publishers Weekly |date=13 January 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> |
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Positioned as the follow-up to ''Steal Like an Artist'' and pitched as “a book for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion,” it offers ten ways to be findable without the hard sell. <ref name="AK20140219">{{cite web |title=10 Ways To Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered |url=https://austinkleon.com/2014/02/19/10-ways-to-share-your-creativity/ |website=Austin Kleon |date=19 February 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> |
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Contemporary coverage and trade reviews were positive—Publishers Weekly called it “sassy and spot-on” with a “pocket-sized” design, Fast Company highlighted its “self-promote without being a jerkface” ethos—and the author lists it as a New York Times bestseller. <ref name="PW20140113" /><ref name="FastCo20140317">{{cite web |last=Grose |first=Jessica |title=The Art Of Self-Promotion: 6 Tips For Getting Your Work Discovered |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3027752/the-art-of-self-promotion-6-tips-for-getting-your-work-discovered |website=Fast Company |date=17 March 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="AKShowPage">{{cite web |title=Show Your Work! |url=https://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/ |website=Austin Kleon |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> |
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== Chapter summary == |
== Chapter summary == |
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⏳ '''10 – Stick around.''' |
⏳ '''10 – Stick around.''' |
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== Background & reception == |
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🖋️ '''Author & writing'''. Kleon—“a writer who draws”—developed ''Show Your Work!'' as the follow-up to ''Steal Like an Artist'', pitching it specifically to readers who dislike self-promotion. <ref name="AK20140219" /> He presents ten rules for making process visible and building an audience through generosity and transparency. <ref name="AK20140219" /> Publishers Weekly described the volume as a “creatively designed pocket-sized book,” urging readers to join a “scenius,” share small, frequent updates, and avoid “human spam.” <ref name="PW20140113" /> The publisher characterizes the approach as “generosity trumps genius” and notes that the book is filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, giving it a conversational, visual voice across one-idea chapters. <ref name="WorkmanPB" /> |
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📈 '''Commercial reception'''. Workman lists the title on sale on 6 March 2014 in trade paperback at 224 pages (ISBN 978-0-7611-7897-2), and WorldCat catalogs the 2014 Workman edition. <ref name="WorkmanPB" /><ref name="OCLC855607405">{{cite web |title=Show your work! : 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered |url=https://search.worldcat.org/ja/title/show-your-work-10-ways-to-share-your-creativity-and-get-discovered/oclc/855607405 |website=WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |date=2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Kleon’s site describes the book as a New York Times bestseller. <ref name="AKShowPage" /> The publisher also situates it within a trilogy whose combined sales exceed one million copies and translations span dozens of languages. <ref name="WorkmanPB" /> Mainstream business media covered the launch and method in March 2014. <ref name="FastCo20140317" /> |
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👍 '''Praise'''. Publishers Weekly called the book “an incredibly useful and compulsively readable short book” and summed up its advice as “sassy and spot-on.” <ref name="PW20140113" /> ''School Library Journal'' judged it “valuable” for young people seriously pursuing creative fields. <ref name="SLJ20140328">{{cite web |last=Carstensen |first=Angela |title=Show Your Work! |url=https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/show-your-work |website=School Library Journal |date=28 March 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Fast Company highlighted its “How to self-promote without being a jerkface” framing and interviewed Kleon about sharing process and setting boundaries. <ref name="FastCo20140317" /> |
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👎 '''Criticism'''. ''School Library Journal'' noted that the follow-up “has less to offer teens than ''Steal Like an Artist''” and found the tone “a bit strident” in parts. <ref name="SLJ20140328" /> Marketing scholars have cautioned that building a brand on social platforms is a “vexing challenge,” complicating assumptions that daily posting alone will create reach. <ref name="HBR2016">{{cite web |last=Holt |first=Douglas |title=Branding in the Age of Social Media |url=https://hbr.org/2016/03/branding-in-the-age-of-social-media |website=Harvard Business Review |date=March 2016 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> More recent guidance urges values-driven personal branding rather than constant broadcasting, a nuance not foregrounded in Kleon’s brief rules. <ref name="HBR2023">{{cite web |last=Avery |first=Jill |author2=Rachel Greenwald |title=A New Approach to Building Your Personal Brand |url=https://hbr.org/2023/05/a-new-approach-to-building-your-personal-brand |website=Harvard Business Review |date=May–June 2023 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Cultural commentary has also flagged a backlash against online oversharing and the need for clearer boundaries, suggesting readers apply the book’s “share every day” advice with discretion. <ref name="Atlantic2022">{{cite news |last=Waters |first=Michael |title=The Decline of Etiquette and the Rise of ‘Boundaries’ |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/11/people-oversharing-tmi-friendship-boundaries/671970/ |work=The Atlantic |date=2 November 2022 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> |
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🌍 '''Impact & adoption'''. The book appears on university reading lists for creative-practice courses—for example, San José State University’s PHOT 197 (Fall 2020). <ref name="SJSU2020">{{cite web |title=Senior Photography Project, PHOT 197 (Fall 2020) |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/art/docs/greensheets/syllabi_2204_fall2020/PHOT_197_02_Danh_Binh_Fall%202020.pdf |website=San José State University |date=2020 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> It is also listed in Tompkins Cortland Community College’s ART 109 (2024–25) and in College of the Desert’s DDP 195 (Fall 2021), which cites the Workman ISBN. <ref name="TC3_2024">{{cite web |title=ART 109 Syllabus (2024–25) |url=https://www3.tc3.edu/mcs/2024-25/ART%20109.pdf |website=Tompkins Cortland Community College |date=2024 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="COD2021">{{cite web |title=DDP 195: Business Practices and Portfolio Preparation for Creatives (Fall 2021) |url=https://www.collegeofthedesert.edu/_web-items/documents/pdf-files/course-outlines/ddp-195-fa21.pdf |website=College of the Desert |date=2021 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Media coverage at launch further amplified its “share your process” ideas beyond art schools into broader creative and business communities. <ref name="FastCo20140317" /> |
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== Related content & more == |
== Related content & more == |
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Revision as of 12:43, 8 November 2025
"Teaching people doesn’t subtract value from what you do, it actually adds to it."
— Austin Kleon, Show Your Work! (2014)
Introduction
| Show Your Work! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full title | Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered |
| Author | Austin Kleon |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Creativity; Self-promotion; Personal development; Marketing |
| Genre | Nonfiction; Self-help |
| Publisher | Workman Publishing Company |
Publication date | 6 March 2014 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (paperback); e-book; audiobook |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7611-7897-2 |
| Goodreads rating | 4.1/5 (as of 8 November 2025) |
| Website | workman.com |
Introduction
Show Your Work! is a compact, illustrated guide to sharing creative work as an open process, laying out ten short chapters that range from “Share something small every day” to “Stick around.” [1] Published by Workman on 6 March 2014 in trade paperback (224 pages), it argues that “generosity trumps genius” and mixes quotes, stories, and examples with Kleon’s drawings. [1] The book frames audience-building as joining a collaborative “scenius” and teaches readers to document process, give credit, and avoid becoming “human spam” online. [2] Positioned as the follow-up to Steal Like an Artist and pitched as “a book for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion,” it offers ten ways to be findable without the hard sell. [3] Contemporary coverage and trade reviews were positive—Publishers Weekly called it “sassy and spot-on” with a “pocket-sized” design, Fast Company highlighted its “self-promote without being a jerkface” ethos—and the author lists it as a New York Times bestseller. [2][4][5]
Chapter summary
This outline follows the Workman paperback edition (2014; ISBN 978-0-7611-7897-2).[1]
🤝 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.
Background & reception
🖋️ Author & writing. Kleon—“a writer who draws”—developed Show Your Work! as the follow-up to Steal Like an Artist, pitching it specifically to readers who dislike self-promotion. [3] He presents ten rules for making process visible and building an audience through generosity and transparency. [3] Publishers Weekly described the volume as a “creatively designed pocket-sized book,” urging readers to join a “scenius,” share small, frequent updates, and avoid “human spam.” [2] The publisher characterizes the approach as “generosity trumps genius” and notes that the book is filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, giving it a conversational, visual voice across one-idea chapters. [1]
📈 Commercial reception. Workman lists the title on sale on 6 March 2014 in trade paperback at 224 pages (ISBN 978-0-7611-7897-2), and WorldCat catalogs the 2014 Workman edition. [1][6] Kleon’s site describes the book as a New York Times bestseller. [5] The publisher also situates it within a trilogy whose combined sales exceed one million copies and translations span dozens of languages. [1] Mainstream business media covered the launch and method in March 2014. [4]
👍 Praise. Publishers Weekly called the book “an incredibly useful and compulsively readable short book” and summed up its advice as “sassy and spot-on.” [2] School Library Journal judged it “valuable” for young people seriously pursuing creative fields. [7] Fast Company highlighted its “How to self-promote without being a jerkface” framing and interviewed Kleon about sharing process and setting boundaries. [4]
👎 Criticism. School Library Journal noted that the follow-up “has less to offer teens than Steal Like an Artist” and found the tone “a bit strident” in parts. [7] Marketing scholars have cautioned that building a brand on social platforms is a “vexing challenge,” complicating assumptions that daily posting alone will create reach. [8] More recent guidance urges values-driven personal branding rather than constant broadcasting, a nuance not foregrounded in Kleon’s brief rules. [9] Cultural commentary has also flagged a backlash against online oversharing and the need for clearer boundaries, suggesting readers apply the book’s “share every day” advice with discretion. [10]
🌍 Impact & adoption. The book appears on university reading lists for creative-practice courses—for example, San José State University’s PHOT 197 (Fall 2020). [11] It is also listed in Tompkins Cortland Community College’s ART 109 (2024–25) and in College of the Desert’s DDP 195 (Fall 2021), which cites the Workman ISBN. [12][13] Media coverage at launch further amplified its “share your process” ideas beyond art schools into broader creative and business communities. [4]
Related content & more
YouTube videos
CapSach articles
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWorkmanPB - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered". Publishers Weekly. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "10 Ways To Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered". Austin Kleon. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Grose, Jessica (17 March 2014). "The Art Of Self-Promotion: 6 Tips For Getting Your Work Discovered". Fast Company. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Show Your Work!". Austin Kleon. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "Show your work! : 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered". WorldCat. OCLC. 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Carstensen, Angela (28 March 2014). "Show Your Work!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ Holt, Douglas (March 2016). "Branding in the Age of Social Media". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ Avery, Jill; Rachel Greenwald (May–June 2023). "A New Approach to Building Your Personal Brand". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ Waters, Michael (2 November 2022). "The Decline of Etiquette and the Rise of 'Boundaries'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "Senior Photography Project, PHOT 197 (Fall 2020)" (PDF). San José State University. 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "ART 109 Syllabus (2024–25)" (PDF). Tompkins Cortland Community College. 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "DDP 195: Business Practices and Portfolio Preparation for Creatives (Fall 2021)" (PDF). College of the Desert. 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2025.