Show your work by Austin Kleon is a lighthearted, helpful book about how getting your work out into the world. The gist, show your work! Let the people see the steps you’re taking before you get to the final product. Kleon tells us how in five simple steps:
Don’t be a Genius. Kleon encourages to find a “scenius” which is a term coined by Brian Eno, who describes it as “similar to genius, but embedded in a scene rather than in genes.” In other words, find a group that shares similar goals, people who help lift you up to your greatest potential. Do things for the love of doing them, and not for fame or recognition, otherwise known as: being an amateur. If you want to be recognized, you have to make noise. Share your stuff! And lastly, he suggests reading obituaries. Realizing you’re going to die someday can help you let loose and realize you have nothing to lose. Do the thing. Get out there.
2. Think Process, Not Product. This section highlights the importance of getting there, not being there. It encourages the reader to show people the work process you’re going through, from beginning to end, because so many people just want the world to see their immaculate finished product, but not share the steps they took to get there. “To many artists, particularly those who grew up in the pre-digital era, this kind of openness and the potential vulnerability that goes along with sharing one’s process is a terrifying idea” (36). But don’t just document the process, document your life during the process too. Whatever that means to you, filming, writing, what have you, just document it.
3. Share Something Small Every Day. Instead of sending out a tweet or posting on Facebook, share the work you’ve done for the day. Instead of Facebook’s “what’s on your mind?” think Dribbble’s “what are you working on?” When you share things, think of it as a gift to your followers. Ask yourself, how will this benefit others? If you’re going to be posting things, make sure the domain on which you post has a cool, attention grabbing name. Something unique to you that you can call your own.
4. Open Up Your Cabinet of Curiosity. Share your tastes with others! There’s a reason your work is the way it is, because of your specific likes and dislikes. Show the world! And when you’re sharing your likes with the world, never be ashamed of it. You like what you like, don’t let anyone take that away from you. Lastly and obviously, give credit where credit is due. If you share someone else’s work, credit them! Duh!
5. Tell Good Stories. Kleon’s thought is: if the finished product is a beautiful masterpiece, who cares what the steps to get there look like? Your work is a story, tell it.
Kleon’s tips: Talk about yourself at parties, tell the truth with dignity, and keep your bio short and sweet.
6. Don’t Turn Into Human Spam. Kleon’s take on ‘human spam’: “They don’t want to listen to your ideas; they want to tell you theirs. They don’t want to go to shows, but they trust flyers at you begging you to come to theirs.” Don’t be human spam. Listen to people, hear their ideas, then speak. If you want more people to look at your site or work or instagram account, what have you, you have to be someone worth looking at. He also talks about, and I am a firm believer in, The Vampire Test. If you hang out with someone and feel depleted of energy and happiness, they are a vampire. If not, They’re not a vampire. Don’t hang out with vampires.
7. Learn To Take a Punch. This chapter is all about feedback. His first piece of advice is to remember that your work is not who you are. People will criticize, but take it at face value and move on. Secondly, “don’t feed the trolls. The first step in evaluating feedback is seizing up who it came from. You want feedback from people who care about you and what you do.”
8. Sell Out. Get over the idea that touching money corrupts creativity. Sell your work. Make a profit. Keep an email list of people who have purchased your stuff. Keep up with them even when you have nothing to sell. Say yes to opportunities as they come! “You wouldn’t say no to Walt Disney.” Lastly, when you reach success, thank the people that helped you get there.
9. Lastly, stick Around. Your career will have ups and downs, that’s normal. Stick around for it. “Chain smoke.” Never stop picking up projects, but find balance, take a few days off, take a few weeks off. Don’t burn out. Don’t be afraid to start from scratch.
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