Show Your Work!
"The way to be able to take a punch is to practice getting hit a lot."
— Austin Kleon, Show Your Work! (2014)
Introduction
| Show Your Work! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Full title | Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered |
| Author | Austin Kleon |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Creativity; Self-promotion; Personal development; Marketing |
| Genre | Nonfiction; Self-help |
| Publisher | Workman Publishing Company |
Publication date | 6 March 2014 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (paperback); e-book; audiobook |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7611-7897-2 |
| Goodreads rating | 4.1/5 (as of 8 November 2025) |
| Website | workman.com |
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.” [1] 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. [1] The book frames audience-building as joining a collaborative “scenius” and teaches readers to document process, give credit, and avoid becoming “human spam” online. [2] 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. [3] 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. [2][4][5]
Chapter summary
This outline follows the Workman paperback edition (2014; ISBN 978-0-7611-7897-2).[1]
🤝 1 – You don’t have to be a genius.
⚙️ 2 – Think process, not product.
📅 3 – Share something small every day.
🗃️ 4 – Open up your cabinet of curiosities.
📖 5 – Tell good stories.
🧑🏫 6 – Teach what you know.
🚫 7 – Don’t turn into human spam.
🥊 8 – Learn to take a punch.
💸 9 – Sell out.
⏳ 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. [3] He presents ten rules for making process visible and building an audience through generosity and transparency. [3] 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.” [2] 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. [1]
📈 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. [1][6] Kleon’s site describes the book as a New York Times bestseller. [5] The publisher also situates it within a trilogy whose combined sales exceed one million copies and translations span dozens of languages. [1] Mainstream business media covered the launch and method in March 2014. [4]
👍 Praise. Publishers Weekly called the book “an incredibly useful and compulsively readable short book” and summed up its advice as “sassy and spot-on.” [2] School Library Journal judged it “valuable” for young people seriously pursuing creative fields. [7] Fast Company highlighted its “How to self-promote without being a jerkface” framing and interviewed Kleon about sharing process and setting boundaries. [4]
👎 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. [7] Marketing scholars have cautioned that building a brand on social platforms is a “vexing challenge,” complicating assumptions that daily posting alone will create reach. [8] More recent guidance urges values-driven personal branding rather than constant broadcasting, a nuance not foregrounded in Kleon’s brief rules. [9] 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. [10]
🌍 Impact & adoption. The book appears on university reading lists for creative-practice courses—for example, San José State University’s PHOT 197 (Fall 2020). [11] 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. [12][13] Media coverage at launch further amplified its “share your process” ideas beyond art schools into broader creative and business communities. [4]
Related content & more
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWorkmanPB - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Show Your Work! 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered". Publishers Weekly. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "10 Ways To Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered". Austin Kleon. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Grose, Jessica (17 March 2014). "The Art Of Self-Promotion: 6 Tips For Getting Your Work Discovered". Fast Company. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Show Your Work!". Austin Kleon. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "Show your work! : 10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered". WorldCat. OCLC. 2014. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Carstensen, Angela (28 March 2014). "Show Your Work!". School Library Journal. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ Holt, Douglas (March 2016). "Branding in the Age of Social Media". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ Avery, Jill; Rachel Greenwald (May–June 2023). "A New Approach to Building Your Personal Brand". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ Waters, Michael (2 November 2022). "The Decline of Etiquette and the Rise of 'Boundaries'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "Senior Photography Project, PHOT 197 (Fall 2020)" (PDF). San José State University. 2020. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "ART 109 Syllabus (2024–25)" (PDF). Tompkins Cortland Community College. 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- ↑ "DDP 195: Business Practices and Portfolio Preparation for Creatives (Fall 2021)" (PDF). College of the Desert. 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2025.