Book Summary: Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
Hey there! Welcome to my monthly Book Summary series, where I get to share with you the incredible insights I gain from the books I read. Every month, I pick out one book and dive deep into its teachings, distilling it into bite-sized nuggets of wisdom that you can easily digest.
🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences
Start sharing your process and work online today for free to attract your audience.
You don’t need to be an expert to share something helpful to others.
Be real and open. Authenticity creates connections.
👤 Who should read this book?
If you want to share your work with the world but are worried about not being good enough or coming off too salesy, this book is for you. It totally shifts your mindset about marketing and sales, which is helpful, especially if you're like me and not a fan of selling stuff.
📕 How the Book Changes Me
It highlighted the importance of having an online presence.
It made me feel more comfortable with sharing my thoughts and my work online
It opened my eyes to the fact that I can still help others without being an expert.
📝 My Top 3 Quotes from the book
If your work isn’t online, it doesn’t exist. — Austin Kleon
The cat sitting on a mat is not a story. The cat sitting on the dog’s mat is a story. — John le Carré
You should be able to explain your work to a kindergarten, a senior citizen, and everybody in between. — Austin Kleon
📒 Book Summary
Introduction — A new way of operating
Be findable. — Being skilled in your craft is crucial, but it's not everything. Building an online presence and credibility is as important to attracting followers and customers. Don't hesitate to share your ideas, processes, knowledge, and results that can benefit others. Remember, If your work isn’t online, it doesn’t exist.
Chapter 1 — You don’t have to be a genius.
No need to be an expert — As an amateur, we always experiment, fail (or succeed). We can and should share results with others. That information is helpful to others on the same journey.
Process matters — Imagine creating a recipe without knowing the right ingredients, quantities, and timing. You may make mistakes before finally presenting a dish that people love. By sharing your process, you can save others time and money when they try to make the same dish. It's a valuable thing to share, perhaps even more valuable than the dish itself.
Chapter 2 — Think Process, not Product
Document your process — According to Gary Vaynerchuk, many people only see the final results of your hard work without realizing the effort you put into achieving those amazing results. Therefore, documenting your process can be a valuable resource. By keeping track of your work, you gain clarity on how you work and notice your progress. You'll also have material to choose from when you're ready to share.
Ensure it’s helpful — When sharing content, ensure it clearly demonstrates how it benefits others. People are interested in what you can do with your skills. Show them your abilities in action.
Chapter 3 — Share something small every day.
Sharing vs. Oversharing — Share content that is helpful, interesting, or entertaining to others. It's important to know what to share and what not to. When you do share, post as if everyone who can read it has the power to fire you.
Website is for self-innovation, not promotion — View your website as a platform for showcasing your work and sharing ideas you care about rather than just self-promotion. Fill it with content that reflects your passions and interests.”
Chapter 4 - Open up your Cabinet of Curiosity
Be inspired by things around you — willing to search for inspiration in places other people normally overlook, our everyday events.
Be true and authentic to who you are and what you like — Our tastes shape who we are, and they also reflect on our work. What influences us are all worth sharing because they tell people who you are and what you do, sometimes even more than our own work. Be proud of them, and you’ll connect with people who like those things too.
Always give proper credit — give credit to other people’s work. Give them hyperlinks if possible since it’s the way people can accurately trace back to what you reference from. Don’t share what you can’t properly credit. Find the right credit, or don’t share.
Chapter 5 - Tell Good Stories.
Become a better storyteller — People's brains are wired to connect to stories. The value of the products is deeply affected by the story associated with them. You need to become a better storyteller if you want to be better at sharing yourself and your work. You should be able to explain your work to a kindergarten, a senior citizen, and everybody in between.
Keep your audience in mind — When you tell the story, speak with plain language, value their time, and be brief. Learn to speak, write. Keep it short but sweet. The most important part of a story is its structure. A good story structure is tidy, sturdy, and logical.
Chapter 6 - Teach what you know
Teaching doesn’t mean instant competition — Teaching creates more credibility. It actually adds your work value, that you understand your craft enough to distill and teach others. You also increase chances to learn more about what you do through talking with people who have seen or read your work.
Choose what to share — Think about what you can share from your process to benefit the people you want to reach.
Chapter 7 - Don’t turn into human spam
Become a person worth following — While it’s true that who you know is important but it’s as important to be the person who does good work since it’s going to attract the right people. Stop worrying about the number of your followers and focus on the quality. If you want someone to follow you, be someone worth following.
Vampire test — If you are worn out after hanging out with someone or doing something, cut that out of your life. Whatever excites you, go do it. Whatever drains you, stop doing it. - Derek Sivers
Find your tribes (people who share your obsession, mission, and mutual respect) and do whatever it takes to keep them in your life. Show them your work, support them, and help each other grow.
Chapter 8 - Learn to take a punch
Bad criticism is cool — Criticism helps you hone your craft. It gives you a sense of direction, what you did well and what you did not. While it can be harsh to get negative feedback after you give it all, it means that you can become 110% better.
Work is something you do, not who you are — Work is a big part of our lives, but it’s still not our whole lives. Just because you didn’t work so well today doesn’t mean you’re worthless. Separate your life aspects well to become more resilient.
Chapter 9 - Sell Out
Know your worth — Don’t be afraid to charge for your work but put a price on it that you think is fair. When you start to form some base audience, you have to be brave and take a leap of turning them into customers/patrons. You do that when you feel confident that your service is worth something.
Building email list — Collecting email addresses who come across your work and want to stay in touch. Give away free stuff, collect emails, and send them emails once you have something to offer.
Be ambitious — Don’t limit yourself by saying, “Keep it real” If the opportunity that you want to do comes to you, say yes. Otherwise, say no.
Chapter 10 - Stick Around
Keep going — People who stay in the game are the ones that get what they want. Keep learning, improving yourself, and continuing to enjoy the journey.
Keeping the momentum — Once you have finished something, start the new one instead of taking a break between projects. You can always get feedback and use them to improve the next one. You don’t need to wait to start another one.
Take a sabbatical break —You do need the break occasionally in a while to recharge yourself both physically and mentally. Do something new, change your environment, and refresh your mind before getting back in.
