Show Your Work by Austin Kleon (Book Notes)

--- by D. Petkovski ---

Shortly before launching my blog/website, I had a TODO item to read “Show Your Work: 10 Ways To Share Your Creativity And Get Discovered” by Austin Kleon.

I wasn’t necessarily seeking for motivation, as I already had an idea what I want to share with the world. But I’ve taken notes that this book was a catalyst for many to start sharing their skills/ideas/products. So I wanted to go through it before starting in case I’m missing some crucial ideas.

Below are my most important takeaways from the book, a year after I read it.

My Notes from “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon

The book puts a lot of emphasis on “just starting”.

And I think that’s a great advice, especially for perfectionists or people that aim to have it all figured out before publicly expressing themselves on a subject.

This was not particularly relatable to me, as I already had around a decade of experience with most things I’m writing about. But even then, it’s a great reminder that you don’t need a crystal clear roadmap or business model to put your thoughts out there.

As the author implies multiple times throughout it: your online presence is your resume.

So without further ado, here are some of the practical notes I took from Show Your Work:

Practical “Show Your Work” Notes

Be an amateur – contributing something is better than contributing nothing. Also, an amateur would have fresh experience with the matter (unlike experts). The best way to start: learn in front of others.
Don’t focus on money at first.
You’ll find your voice if you use it. Show your “work in progress”. Not the finished product. Be a documentation of what you do.
Share something small every day.
Just get a domain.
Unsure which topics to cover? Where do you get your inspiration? What do you think about? What do you visit daily? What do you do? Whose ideas you like? Your influences are all worth sharing.
Tell good stories. The work doesn’t speak for itself.
Speak in plain language: be direct and value your audience’s time.
Have an “elevator pitch”.
Don’t focus on number of followers etc. Discuss ideas IRL. Don’t feed the trolls.
Build a mailing list, even if you don’t have to sell anything right now.
Stick around!

Good read – extremely quick, easy, and practical.

And quite helpful for people that need the final push to express themselves publicly.

Author

D. Petkovski

📓 The Author Husband & Father
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Show Your Work by Austin Kleon (Book Notes)

My Notes from “Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon

Practical “Show Your Work” Notes

Author

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