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Show Your Work
Highlights
Show Your Work: Book Review
Show your work by Austin Kleon is a well-written strategy for creative people to showcase their work in front of millions. This book contains a systematic approach to how we can grow our audiences in an organized manner and get the desired developments for our creative ideas.
The book has 10- basic ideas, which get covered in detail, and you’ll find short notes at the end of this review. The thing that has been quite joyful while reading this book is the quantity and quality of the content. You will not find any chapters loaded with useless extended paragraphs. If the chapter has been able to provide you with the lesson, it stops there, unlike other books, where they continuously focus on the same thing. Moreover, the design and the layout of the book are particularly engaging. The book is filled with innovative design, and the fonts used in the pages let you keep going. It feels like some close person is talking to you and showing you a road map on a piece of paper on how to do certain things. It does add quite an intimate touch.
Another plus point about this book is that the author preaches what he speaks about in this book. He mentions sharing the knowledge with your community members and trying to teach them more and more about your work and not just keeping it to yourself.
Not many people open up to their audiences about their knowledge. Show Your Work has been a helping hand for me and my work, as I have not been able to focus on building an active community and sharing my work as much as I wanted to. But with the experience and his guidelines, I hope to gain some traction for my website informednation.in as well as my Instagram page @informednation.in.
I will try out his ideas and update you on how the advice has fared for me.
Show Your Work: Book Summary in 3 sentences
- Share knowledge with others. There is no point of keeping it to yourself.
- People will not find your work on their own. You have to put in the efforts to build a community and show your work.
- Share something each day about your work.
Who Should Read It?
People who are in creative industry and are starting something of their own should read this book. This will help in getting the foundation covered.
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Top 3 Quotes
- Make stuff you love and talk about stuff you love and you’ll attract people who love that kind of stuff. It’s that simple.
- The worst troll is the one that lives in your head.
- Don’t try to be hip or cool. Being open and honest about what you like is the best way to connect with people who like those things, too.
I’ve compiled notes on some of the key topics in the book which can give you a better overview of the content you’re going to find in Show Your Work.
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Show Your Work Notes
1. You don’t have to be a genius 👩🏫
- Being amateur leads up to more imagination and more possibilities.
- Use your voice. Go out on internet to show what you’ve been doing.
- It might take time to complete the near perfect project but let them know what you’re doing.
2. Think Process Not Product 🌀
- Show your process to the audience for more connection.
- Write journal and write things going on in life.
3. Share Something Small Everyday 🚀
- You do not know what will work.
- Make a habit of sharing something everyday.
- Try blogging or any other media that can help you reach audiences.
4. Open Your Cabinet of Curiosities 🗄️
- Share things about yourself.
- What things lead your way of work?
- What influences your thinking?
5. Tell Good Stories 🧚
- Associate good stories with your work.
- Tell the things that matter. Connection building helps.
- Speak honestly about yourself. Do not sugarcoat.
6. Teach What You Know 👨🏫
- Spread knowledge to others.
- Teach what you know and how can other understand it better.
7. Don’t Turn into a Human Spam ❎
- Be an open Node. Give what you expect to receive.
- Check out works of other people in your niche and discuss ideas with them.
8. Learn to Take a Punch 👊
- Learn to accept the criticism.
- Check if any criticism is able to add value.
9. Sell Out 💰
- Take advantage of the opportunities present.
- Convert fans into patreons.
10. Stick Around 🔋
- Never Quit.
- Go all in. If you have time don’t take unplanned breaks.
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