Greetings, readers! Dancers, musicians, writers, poets, and other creatives – this one’s for you.

Are you struggling to find inspiration in your creative pursuits? Do you feel like your work is going unnoticed? Austin Kleon’s New York Times best-selling book, Show Your Work!, emphasizes the importance of sharing your creative process and getting your work seen by others. By opening up about your process, you can gain valuable feedback, build a community, and attract new opportunities.

This article endorses this book and encourages you to start showing your work more often to unlock your creativity through this process.

Key Takeaways from Show Your Work!

This book unleashes your creativity with valuable insights on how to effectively show your work to the world.

Embrace Self-Promotion

Showcasing your work is just as important as creating it. Embrace self-promotion by sharing your process, giving glimpses into your workspace, and sharing your work on social media.

Find Your Network

Building relationships within your creative community is essential to getting discovered. Take advantage of social and support events within your industry to connect with like-minded individuals. It’s not enough to be good. To be found, you have to be findable.

Be Authentic

Don’t be afraid to share your failures and imperfections – they make you human and relatable. If you’re real and if you have something to say, then you have something to share.

Tell Good Stories

Storytelling is a powerful tool for self-promotion and unleashing your creativity. Use narratives to share your process, connect with your audience, and make your work more memorable.

Becoming creative is a habit. To help you discover your talents deep inside, read this article on Atomic Habits.

Self-promotion and Taking Risks

One of the key themes of this book is the importance of taking risks and embracing self-promotion in your creative pursuits. As Kleon writes, “You can’t find your voice if you don’t use it.” This means being willing to put yourself out there, to share your work with others, and to take a chance to be seen.

This can feel foreign, especially if you’re just starting or worried about how your work will be received. Self-promotion is a necessary part of the creative process. It’s not enough to just make great work; you also have to let people know about it.

Self-promotion doesn’t have to mean shameless self-promotion, either. You can be authentic to yourself while also sharing your work with others. It’s about finding a balance between promoting your work and staying true to your vision.

Getting Discovered

This book encourages you to put yourself in front of the right people at the right time. Seek out opportunities for exposure and aim to cultivate a network of supporters who can help you achieve your goals. By building your online presence to attending networking events, you will gain more fans and followers to support and inspire your cause.

Harnessing the Power of Good Stories

Everyone loves a good story. It draws us in, captures our attention, and leaves a lasting impression. This is why storytelling is such a powerful tool for unleashing your creativity and getting discovered. Sharing your process helps others learn from you and understand how your work came to be. This transparency can build trust between you and your audience, and maybe even inspire them to take creative risks of their own.

By sharing your process and the story behind your work, you can create a deeper connection with your audience. This connection can lead to more opportunities, whether it’s a new job offer or a collaboration with a fellow artist.

Start by sharing your process on social media or your personal blog. Use visuals to help tell your story, whether it’s photos of your workspace or a time-lapse video of your creative process. The goal is to show your work and share your story in a way that is authentic and resonates with your audience.

This book emphasizes openness, vulnerability, and community engagement in the pursuit of artistic growth – optimizing the notion that it’s not so much about the destination, but more so about the journey.

At its core, Show Your Work! views the conventional solitary artist, toiling away in isolation until their masterpiece is complete, as a hindrance to creative development due to its lack of opportunities for feedback, collaboration, and inspiration. Kleon advocates for a new paradigm—one where creators generously share their works-in-progress, thoughts and even failures as they unfold.

It’s an effortlessly but deeply impactful read, with concise chapters filled with anecdotes, practical advice, and illustrative visuals, and features visually striking typography and hand-drawn elements to complement its over-arching message. 

This book also stresses the importance of in-person interactions. Attending events, sharing progress with friends and colleagues, and embracing networking will enrich your creative process. You will learn how to navigate self-promotion without coming off as self-centred or opportunistic.

While Show Your Work! is intended for artists, writers and musicians, its principles can extend to professionals from various fields. In an age where personal branding and authenticity are pivotal, you can apply this philosophy to forge meaningful connections in your endeavours.

Showing your work is about self-discovery. And self-discovery is about knowing your why. Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle explains the importance of your why in this engaging article.

This potent manifesto deserves an 8.5 out of 10 due to its radical approach to the creative process in the digital age. It’s a refreshing departure from conventional wisdom, encouraging vulnerability, community-building and genuine sharing, over being an artist in solitude. Factor Kleon’s engaging writing style and illustrative visuals, this book is a quick read but delivers a long-lasting resonance to spark your spirit.

Thanks for reading and catch you on the next one!