Show Your Work Kleon
In a sentence
A practical guide for creators on how to generously share their process and work-in-progress to attract an audience, connect with a community, and get discovered.
In an era where discoverability is key, 'Show Your Work!' offers a refreshing alternative to aggressive self-promotion. Austin Kleon argues against the myth of the 'lone genius,' advocating instead for joining a 'scenius'—a supportive ecosystem of creators who learn from and share with one another. This book is a 10-step manual for anyone who makes things, providing actionable advice on how to document your process, share small updates daily, teach what you know, and tell good stories about your work. By making your process visible, you not only improve your craft through feedback but also build a genuine connection with people who love what you love, creating a network that can lead to collaborators, patrons, and lifelong opportunities.
The model
This model, derived from Austin Kleon's 'Show Your Work!', outlines how a creator's public documentation of their work, combined with narrative crafting and community citizenship, leads to crucial mediating states like findability, audience connection, and scenius participation. These states, bolstered by personal resilience, ultimately result in positive career outcomes, audience growth, and sustained creative momentum.
Public Work Documentationbehavioral pattern
The behavior of regularly and openly sharing one's creative process, including works-in-progress, methods, influences, tools, and acquired knowledge.
Narrative Craftingbehavioral pattern
The practice of structuring and telling compelling stories about one's work, its origins, its challenges, and its meaning, to create context and emotional value for an audience.
Community Citizenshipbehavioral pattern
The set of behaviors focused on being a good member of a creative community, such as listening, giving proper credit, sharing the work of others, and avoiding 'human spam' tactics.
Creator Findabilitycontextual condition
The degree to which a creator and their work can be easily discovered online by people who would be interested in it.
Audience Connectionpsychological state
The perceived sense of a genuine, human relationship between the creator and their audience, built on authenticity and shared interests.
Scenius Participationcontextual condition
The state of being an active, recognized, and contributing member of a creative scene or 'scenius,' characterized by mutual support and idea exchange.
Personal Resiliencepsychological state
The psychological capacity to withstand, adapt to, and recover from criticism, failure, and other stressors associated with sharing creative work publicly.
Audience and Patronageoutcome metric
The tangible growth of a supportive audience that provides feedback, encouragement, and financial support through donations, purchases, or commissions.
Career Opportunitiesoutcome metric
The emergence of professional prospects such as job offers, collaborations, commissions, speaking gigs, or media features that result from one's public body of work.
Sustained Creative Momentumpsychological state
The ability and motivation to continually engage in creative work, start new projects, and persevere in one's craft over the long term, avoiding burnout or stagnation.
How they connect
- public work documentation → influences creator findability
- public work documentation → influences audience connection
- narrative crafting → influences audience connection
- community citizenship → influences scenius participation
- public work documentation → influences personal resilience
- creator findability → predicts career opportunities
- audience connection → predicts audience and patronage
- scenius participation → predicts career opportunities
- scenius participation → influences sustained creative momentum
- personal resilience → predicts sustained creative momentum
- audience and patronage → influences sustained creative momentum
The story
The reader A creator (artist, writer, entrepreneur, student) who wants their work to be seen and valued, but hates the idea of traditional self-promotion and feels uncertain about how to find an audience.
External problem
Their work goes unnoticed, making it difficult to find supporters, get feedback, and build a sustainable career.
Internal problem
They feel insecure, fear criticism, and believe they must be a 'genius' or an 'expert' before they can share their work, leading to frustration and isolation.
Philosophical problem
It's just plain wrong that talented, hardworking people remain obscure simply because they aren't comfortable with boastful self-promotion.
The plan
- Adopt a 'scenius' mindset instead of a 'lone genius' one.
- Document your process and share small pieces of it every day.
- Share your influences and what inspires you.
- Craft compelling stories around your work.
- Teach what you know to generate interest and provide value.
- Become a good community citizen by listening and promoting others.
- Develop resilience to criticism and failure.
- Learn to embrace financial success without compromising your work.
- Commit to the long-term process of creating and sharing.
Success
- The reader builds a loyal audience that supports their work financially and emotionally.
- They become a valued member of a creative community ('scenius'), leading to collaborations and friendships.
- Their online presence becomes a living portfolio that attracts professional opportunities.
- They feel more confident, connected, and fulfilled in their creative practice.
At stake
- They continue to create in isolation, their work unseen and unappreciated.
- They miss out on valuable feedback, collaboration, and career opportunities.
- They remain frustrated by their obscurity and may eventually give up on their creative pursuits.