Show Your Work! - Austin Kleon

BOOK REVIEW

I came to know of this book around 2 weeks back from this video by Ali Abdaal - where he goes over how the book helped him overcome the fear of putting himself out there and how it changed his perception about sharing work.

This video was also part of the many reasons that I, too, decided to share whatever interested me using this website :)

My 3 Favourite Quotes

1. The beauty of owning your own turf is that you can do whatever you want with it. Your domain name is your domain name. Build a good domain name, keep it clean, and eventually it will be its own currency. Whether people show up or they don't, you're out there, doing your thing, ready whenever they are.
   

2. Whether you share it or not, documenting and recording your process as you go along has its own rewards: You'll start to see the work you're doing more clearly and feel like you're making progress. And when you're ready to share, you'll have a surplus of material to choose from.
   

3. Share what you love, and the people who love the same things will find you.
   

Summary & Notes

A new way of operating

"Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of operating." - John Cleese 

It's no longer enough to be good. It's no longer enough to just make stuff and hope that people will find it. In order to be found, you have to be findable.

Almost all the people who are worth stealing from have built sharing into their routine. Instead of maintaining absolute secrecy, they're open about sharing their processes, posting bits and pieces of their work and what they're learning online.

This new way of operating is aimed at people who hate looking at sharing their work as a form of self-promotion. Think about your work as a never-ending process, and how sharing whatever interests you will help attract like-minded people.

Imagine if your next boss didn't have to read your resume because he already reads your blog.

All you have to do is show your work.

1. You don't have to be a genius

Move away from the lone genius myth. There is this wrong perception that in order to share something, you need to be a lone genius in that field. This is simply not true. Instead, we should find a scenius.

A Scenius is a healthier way to think about creativity - “a whole scene of people supporting each other, looking at each other’s work, copying from each other, stealing ideas, and contributing ideas.” And to contribute to a scenius, you don't have to be an expert. Anyone can contribute.

What I love about the idea of scenius is that it makes room in the story of creativity for the rest of us: the people who don't consider ourselves geniuses.

Be an Amateur - We're all terrified of being exposed as amateurs but today, that can be your advantage over the professional. Amateurs aren't afraid to make mistakes or look ridiculous in public.

"The stupidest possible creative act is still a creative act" -Clay Shirky

Amateurs might lack formal training but they're lifelong learners and by sharing their work openly, help others in similar situations to learn from their failures or successes.

2. Think process, not product

Take People Behind the Scenes - Traditionally, the artist has been trained to regard her creative process as something that should be kept secret. But with the onset of the Internet, this no longer makes sense. There is an opportunity now to share your creative process - and not just the finished product at the end of the process.

"People really do want to see how the sausage gets made."

People not only want to stumble across great work, but they, too, long to be creative and part of the creative process.

Become a Documentarian - A lot of us go about our work and feel like we have nothing worth sharing. But whatever the nature of your work, there is an art to what you do.

Even if you don't have a finished model to show off, share what you're doing on a daily basis. This is simply keeping track of what's going on around you.

Document, don't create.

3. Share something small every day

Send out a daily dispatch - Try and share something every day. Once a day, after you've done your day's work, go back and find one piece of your process that you can share.

A daily dispatch is even better than a resume or a portfolio because it shows what we're working on right now.

Don't worry about everything you post being perfect.

Of course, don't let sharing your work take precedence over actually doing your work!

Sharing vs Oversharing - Share stuff that might be helpful/interesting/entertaining to someone on the other side of the screen.

Build a good (domain) name - Nothing beats owning your own space online, a place you have complete control over, a place that no one can take away from you. And where people can always find you. Everyone should have their own domain name.

So go find a domain name, preferably www.[yourname].com, but if that’s not available, use another extension (eg: .co.in, .dev, .me etc there are lots of them). Figure out how to install a blog on it (eg: Wordpress or Wix, I use Wix).

Your website doesn't have to look pretty; it just has to exist.

4. Open up your Cabinet of Curiosities

Don't be a hoarder - The problem with hoarding is you'll end up living off your reserves. Give things away. Somehow the more you give away, the more comes back to you.

Your cabinet of curiosities can be your treasured collection - either physical collections of your favorite novels, movies or more intangible items like memories of the places you've been to, people you've met etc. Open them up and share them with the world.

If you think your work is not yet ready to share, you can share your tastes in the work of others.

Share other people’s work - We all like different things. Share the stuff you like, even if it was made by others. Curate similar lists from people you follow.

Your influences are all worth sharing because they clue people in to who you are and what you do - sometimes even more than your own work.

No guilty pleasures - If you like something, own up to it. Be proud of it. Don't let anyone else make you feel bad for liking it. Don't feel guilty about the pleasure you take in the things you enjoy. Celebrate them.

Being open and honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people who like those things too

Credit is always due - If you’re sharing other people’s work, it's your duty to give them credit. Crediting work may feel futile but, 1. It's worth it, and 2. It's the right thing to do

Attribution = providing context for what you’re sharing. 

It’s like putting little labels next to the stuff you share.

Preferably attribute with a link. Eg: Thank you Austin Kleon for writing this book. Thank you Ali Abdaal for showing me this book.

5. Tell good stories

Work doesn't speak for itself

When shown anything, people's assessment of it - how much they like it, how valuable it is - is deeply affected by what you tell them about it.

People want to read (and hear) good stories. You’ll become more effective at sharing yourself and your work if you get good at telling a good story.

Talk about yourself at parties - It’s okay to talk about yourself if people ask. Don’t think of it as an interrogation. Think of it as a chance to connect with someone who might be interested in your work.

Just because you're trying to tell a good story about yourself doesn't mean you're inventing fiction. Stick to nonfiction. Tell the truth with dignity and self respect.

6. Teach what you know

The impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you.

Share your trade secrets - Teaching people doesn’t take away from what you do, it adds to it. Teaching doesn't mean instant competition. Just because you know the master's technique doesn't mean you're going to be able to emulate it right away.

Learn <---> Teach

When you teach and share your work with others, you’ll get an education in return. People will see your stuff, connect with it, and reach out to you with recommendations and their own thoughts. This is magical.

7. Don’t turn into human spam

Human spam - they're everywhere. They don't want to listen to your ideas, they want to tell you theirs. They don't want to pay their dues, they want their piece right here, right now.

Avoid being human spam - understand that the world owes none of us anything.

If you want fans, you have to be a fan first. If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first be a good citizen of that community. If you’re only pointing to your own stuff online, you’re doing it wrong.

The writer Blake Butler calls this being an open node.

You want hearts, not eyeballs - Stop caring about how many people read your stuff and how many people follow you online. They will come eventually if you keep up the quality of your work.

The vampire test

“Whatever excites you, go do it. Whatever drains you, stop doing it”

If, after hanging out with someone you feel worn out and depleted, that person is a vampire.

If you still feel full of energy, that person is not a vampire.

Meet people IRL - Make online friends, and then meet them in real life. Meet-ups are great. If you know someone online and you’re in the same town, grab a coffee with them.

Meeting people online is awesome, but turning them into IRL friends is even better.

8. Learn to take a punch

When you put stuff out there, there's going to be criticism - both good and bad. This is natural. Learn to take it.

Don’t let the fear of haters stop you from putting yourself out there. They’re a tiny minority, and they have no real power over you.

"Compulsive avoidance of embarrassment is a form of suicide." - Colin Marshall.

Don’t spend your life avoiding vulnerability. If you do, you and your work will never truly connect with people.

The trick is not caring what everybody thinks of you and just caring about what the right people think of you.

9. Sell out

We need to get over our “starving artist” romanticism. There’s nothing wrong or evil about money. Charging money for things doesn’t corrupt your creativity.

Asking for money in return for your work is a leap you want to take only when you feel confident that you're putting work out into the world that you think is truly worth something.

Put a price on your work that you think is fair.

Keep a mailing list - Even if you don’t have anything to sell right now, keep a mailing list. The model is simple - give away free great free stuff on your website. Collect the emails of people who enjoy reading it. When you have something remarkable to sell or share, send them an email letting them know.

Pay it forward - When you have success, help people who reach out to you. Help people who helped you get where you are.

Caveat - Don’t sacrifice your work for the sake of answering emails/responding back.

Be as generous as you can, but selfish enough to get your work done.

10. Stick around

Don’t quit - Keep doing your work, and keep sharing.

Work is never finished, only abandoned.

Use the end of one project to light up the next one. Just do the work that's in front of you, and when it's finished, reflect on what you learned, what you missed or what you could've done better, and jump into the next project.

Take breaks - The best time to find oneself is while taking a sabbatical.

Begin Again - Don’t be afraid to change things up. It’s not really starting over. You’re still keeping everything you learned before.

Anyone who isn't embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn't learning enough.

Go back to chapter one and become an amateur. Look for something new to learn, and when you find it, dedicate yourself to learning it out in the open.

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