Free Key Ideas guide · 15-page PDF
Book by Austin Kleon
The book’s 12 main ideas, a one-page summary, two worksheets and a cheat sheet arrive in your inbox now, and a 7-day plan by email starts tomorrow: the big ideas on day 1, then one small action a day.
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Summary · 4-minute read
Drawn from our Key Ideas guide to Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon. The free PDF goes further, with a one-page summary, worksheets and a cheat sheet.
Many people do good work that almost no one sees, because they hate the idea of promoting themselves. Austin Kleon, a writer and artist, argues there is a better way: share your process openly and generously, and let the people who care about the same things find you.
This guide condenses Show Your Work! into twelve ideas, from joining a creative scene and sharing a little every day to telling better stories, teaching what you know and sticking with your work through ups and downs. It closes with a one-page summary, two worksheets and a cheat sheet.
Austin Kleon says the question readers ask him most is how to get noticed. He agrees with Steve Martin's advice to be so good they can't ignore you, but adds a catch: being good is not enough. To be found, you have to be findable. The people he admires most build sharing into their routines, posting bits of their work, ideas and learning as they go.
Kleon argues that amateurs often have an advantage. They work out of love, have little to lose and are willing to try things and share the results. They are not afraid to look silly, and because they learn in the open, others can learn from their mistakes. Sometimes a fellow learner can explain a problem better than an expert who solved it long ago.
Kleon draws a line between artwork and art work: the finished piece and the daily process behind it. Artists were traditionally taught to keep their process private and only show finished products. That made sense when galleries and magazines were the only ways to reach an audience. Today, he says, anyone can share as much of their process as they like, almost for free.
Overnight success, Kleon says, is usually about a decade of hard work. Building a body of work takes a lifetime, but you can focus on one day at a time. After each day's work, find one small piece of your process to share. Early on, share what inspires you. In the middle of a project, share methods or works in progress.
Kleon borrows writer Robin Sloan's idea of stock and flow. Flow is the stream of daily posts and updates that remind people you exist. Stock is the durable work that is as interesting in two years as it is today. The trick is to keep up your flow while building stock in the background.
Wealthy Europeans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries often kept cabinets of curiosities, rooms full of rare objects that displayed their interests. Kleon says we all have our own collections, physical or mental, and they shape our taste and our work. Collecting and creating are closer than they seem.
Kleon describes an experiment from the book Significant Objects. The authors bought cheap items from thrift stores and yard sales, paid writers to invent stories about them and listed them on eBay with the stories as descriptions. Trinkets bought for $128.74 sold for $3,612.51. Stories, he argues, change how people value things.
Kleon describes visiting Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, where pitmaster Aaron Franklin was filming a series showing every step of how he smokes meat. Barbecue is a secretive, competitive world, yet Franklin shared everything. The restaurant still had a line around the block and sold out daily.
Kleon describes people who want attention but give none: the writer who doesn't read, the musician who pushes flyers but never goes to shows. He calls them human spam. If you want fans, he says, you have to be a fan first, and if you want to be part of a community, be a good citizen of it.
The more people see your work, the more criticism you will get. Kleon offers ways to take it. Relax and breathe, since fear is often imagination taking a wrong turn. Strengthen your neck by putting out lots of work and letting people react, until criticism stops feeling fatal.
People need to eat and pay rent, Kleon says, so drop the romantic idea that money corrupts art. Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling on commission. Mario Puzo wrote The Godfather partly to pay off debts. Don't sneer at artists who succeed, and celebrate when people you like do well.
Careers have ups and downs, and Kleon says the people who get what they want are often the ones who stay long enough. Don't quit too early. Success and failure are no guarantee of what comes next, so after every project you face the same question: what's next?
Show Your Work! is a short guide to sharing your creativity without feeling like you are promoting yourself. Austin Kleon argues that being good is not enough: you also have to be findable. That means joining a scene, learning in the open like an amateur and sharing your process, not just finished products.
Key ideas & lessons
For people who make things but hate self-promotion, and want a generous way to share their work and be found. Less useful if you want a detailed marketing plan.
The first lesson to tryPick one project you're working on now. Document one piece of your process each day this week, and share at least three of them with a short note on what you're doing and why.
Day 1
Austin Kleon, a writer and artist, argues that being good isn't enough; you also need to be findable. His approach is to share your process openly and generously, a little at a time, so the people who care about the same things can find you.
Where it overreachesKleon's advice fits creative and knowledge work best, and some of his examples come from the early social media era. Sharing should never mean exposing private information about you or others.
Days 2 to 7
10 to 20 minutes each, with a two-minute version for a bad day.
Sample
This is what lands in your inbox that day.
Today’s action · 10 to 20 minutes
Post one small piece of your process today.
How
Pick something short: a sketch, a photo of your desk, a note on what you learned or a tool you use. Add one line on why it matters. Post it.
Why this one
Kleon suggests sharing something small every day as a way to build a body of work.
If today is a bad day
Write one sentence about what you worked on today.
In short
The Afterpage Key Ideas guide condenses Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon into 12 ideas: Be findable; Join a scenius; Stay an amateur; Process, not product; Share daily; Flow into stock; Own your space; Share your influences; Tell good stories; Teach what you know; Don't be human spam; Stick around.
Yes. This page has a 4-minute Show Your Work! summary drawn from the Afterpage Key Ideas guide. The full guide is a free 15-page PDF with the 12 key ideas, a one-page summary, two worksheets and a cheat sheet, sent by email.
Yes. Enter your email and the 15-page PDF guide arrives in a minute. Next, a 7-day plan by email, starting tomorrow: the big ideas on day 1, then one small action a day. It is free for your first book; membership covers every book.
Show Your Work! is a short guide to sharing your creativity without feeling like you are promoting yourself. Austin Kleon argues that being good is not enough: you also have to be findable. That means joining a scene, learning in the open like an amateur and sharing your process, not just finished products.
Be findable. Join a scenius. Stay an amateur. Process, not product. Share daily. Flow into stock. Own your space. Share your influences. Tell good stories. Teach what you know. Don't be human spam. Stick around. The first one to try: Pick one project you're working on now. Document one piece of your process each day this week, and share at least three of them with a short note on what you're doing and why.
For people who make things but hate self-promotion, and want a generous way to share their work and be found. Less useful if you want a detailed marketing plan.
Austin Kleon, a writer and artist, argues that being good isn't enough; you also need to be findable. His approach is to share your process openly and generously, a little at a time, so the people who care about the same things can find you. Share the process, not just the product; Share something small every day; Build a home for your work; Teach what you know; Don't be human spam.
You get the Key Ideas guide first. The next day, day 1 is a short summary. Then one action a day, each 10 to 20 minutes: Choose what to share; Share one small piece; Open your cabinet of curiosities; Teach one thing; Be a fan first; Set up a weekly routine. Day 7 also has a recap.
Kleon's advice fits creative and knowledge work best, and some of his examples come from the early social media era. Sharing should never mean exposing private information about you or others.
Choose what to share. Decide what part of your work you could share regularly, and where. If you only have two minutes: Write one thing about your work you could show someone today.