Show Your Work!: Difference between revisions
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== Introduction ==
'''''Show Your Work!''''' is a compact, illustrated guide to sharing creative work as an open process, laying out ten short chapters that range from “Share something small every day” to “Stick around.” <ref name="WorkmanPB" />
Published by Workman on 6 March 2014 in trade paperback (224 pages), it argues that “generosity trumps genius” and mixes quotes, stories, and examples with Kleon’s drawings. <ref name="WorkmanPB" />
The book frames audience-building as joining a collaborative “scenius” and teaches readers to document process, give credit, and avoid becoming “human spam” online. <ref name="PW20140113">{{cite web |title=Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780761178972 |website=Publishers Weekly |date=13 January 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref>
Positioned as the follow-up to ''Steal Like an Artist'' and pitched as “a book for people who hate the very idea of self-promotion,” it offers ten ways to be findable without the hard sell. <ref name="AK20140219">{{cite web |title=10 Ways To Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered |url=https://austinkleon.com/2014/02/19/10-ways-to-share-your-creativity/ |website=Austin Kleon |date=19 February 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref>
Contemporary coverage and trade reviews were positive—Publishers Weekly called it “sassy and spot-on” with a “pocket-sized” design, Fast Company highlighted its “self-promote without being a jerkface” ethos—and the author lists it as a New York Times bestseller. <ref name="PW20140113" /><ref name="FastCo20140317">{{cite web |last=Grose |first=Jessica |title=The Art Of Self-Promotion: 6 Tips For Getting Your Work Discovered |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3027752/the-art-of-self-promotion-6-tips-for-getting-your-work-discovered |website=Fast Company |date=17 March 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="AKShowPage">{{cite web |title=Show Your Work! |url=https://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/ |website=Austin Kleon |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref>
== Chapter summary ==
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⏳ '''10 – Stick around.'''
== Background & reception ==
🖋️ '''Author & writing'''. Kleon—“a writer who draws”—developed ''Show Your Work!'' as the follow-up to ''Steal Like an Artist'', pitching it specifically to readers who dislike self-promotion. <ref name="AK20140219" /> He presents ten rules for making process visible and building an audience through generosity and transparency. <ref name="AK20140219" /> Publishers Weekly described the volume as a “creatively designed pocket-sized book,” urging readers to join a “scenius,” share small, frequent updates, and avoid “human spam.” <ref name="PW20140113" /> The publisher characterizes the approach as “generosity trumps genius” and notes that the book is filled with illustrations, quotes, stories, and examples, giving it a conversational, visual voice across one-idea chapters. <ref name="WorkmanPB" />
📈 '''Commercial reception'''. Workman lists the title on sale on 6 March 2014 in trade paperback at 224 pages (ISBN 978-0-7611-7897-2), and WorldCat catalogs the 2014 Workman edition. <ref name="WorkmanPB" /><ref name="OCLC855607405">{{cite web |title=Show your work! : 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered |url=https://search.worldcat.org/ja/title/show-your-work-10-ways-to-share-your-creativity-and-get-discovered/oclc/855607405 |website=WorldCat |publisher=OCLC |date=2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Kleon’s site describes the book as a New York Times bestseller. <ref name="AKShowPage" /> The publisher also situates it within a trilogy whose combined sales exceed one million copies and translations span dozens of languages. <ref name="WorkmanPB" /> Mainstream business media covered the launch and method in March 2014. <ref name="FastCo20140317" />
👍 '''Praise'''. Publishers Weekly called the book “an incredibly useful and compulsively readable short book” and summed up its advice as “sassy and spot-on.” <ref name="PW20140113" /> ''School Library Journal'' judged it “valuable” for young people seriously pursuing creative fields. <ref name="SLJ20140328">{{cite web |last=Carstensen |first=Angela |title=Show Your Work! |url=https://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/story/show-your-work |website=School Library Journal |date=28 March 2014 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Fast Company highlighted its “How to self-promote without being a jerkface” framing and interviewed Kleon about sharing process and setting boundaries. <ref name="FastCo20140317" />
👎 '''Criticism'''. ''School Library Journal'' noted that the follow-up “has less to offer teens than ''Steal Like an Artist''” and found the tone “a bit strident” in parts. <ref name="SLJ20140328" /> Marketing scholars have cautioned that building a brand on social platforms is a “vexing challenge,” complicating assumptions that daily posting alone will create reach. <ref name="HBR2016">{{cite web |last=Holt |first=Douglas |title=Branding in the Age of Social Media |url=https://hbr.org/2016/03/branding-in-the-age-of-social-media |website=Harvard Business Review |date=March 2016 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> More recent guidance urges values-driven personal branding rather than constant broadcasting, a nuance not foregrounded in Kleon’s brief rules. <ref name="HBR2023">{{cite web |last=Avery |first=Jill |author2=Rachel Greenwald |title=A New Approach to Building Your Personal Brand |url=https://hbr.org/2023/05/a-new-approach-to-building-your-personal-brand |website=Harvard Business Review |date=May–June 2023 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Cultural commentary has also flagged a backlash against online oversharing and the need for clearer boundaries, suggesting readers apply the book’s “share every day” advice with discretion. <ref name="Atlantic2022">{{cite news |last=Waters |first=Michael |title=The Decline of Etiquette and the Rise of ‘Boundaries’ |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2022/11/people-oversharing-tmi-friendship-boundaries/671970/ |work=The Atlantic |date=2 November 2022 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref>
🌍 '''Impact & adoption'''. The book appears on university reading lists for creative-practice courses—for example, San José State University’s PHOT 197 (Fall 2020). <ref name="SJSU2020">{{cite web |title=Senior Photography Project, PHOT 197 (Fall 2020) |url=https://www.sjsu.edu/art/docs/greensheets/syllabi_2204_fall2020/PHOT_197_02_Danh_Binh_Fall%202020.pdf |website=San José State University |date=2020 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> It is also listed in Tompkins Cortland Community College’s ART 109 (2024–25) and in College of the Desert’s DDP 195 (Fall 2021), which cites the Workman ISBN. <ref name="TC3_2024">{{cite web |title=ART 109 Syllabus (2024–25) |url=https://www3.tc3.edu/mcs/2024-25/ART%20109.pdf |website=Tompkins Cortland Community College |date=2024 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref><ref name="COD2021">{{cite web |title=DDP 195: Business Practices and Portfolio Preparation for Creatives (Fall 2021) |url=https://www.collegeofthedesert.edu/_web-items/documents/pdf-files/course-outlines/ddp-195-fa21.pdf |website=College of the Desert |date=2021 |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref> Media coverage at launch further amplified its “share your process” ideas beyond art schools into broader creative and business communities. <ref name="FastCo20140317" />
== Related content & more ==
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