“When I have the privilege of talking to my readers, the most common questions they ask me are about self-promotion. How do I get my stuff out there? How do I get noticed? How do I find my audience? How did you do it?
I hate talking about self-promotion. Comedian Steve Martin famously dodges these questions with the advice, ‘Be so good they can’t ignore you.’ If you just focus on getting really good, Martin says, people will come to you. I happen to agree: You don’t really find an audience for your work; they find you. But it’s not enough to be good.
In order to be found, you have to be findable. I think there’s an easy way of putting your work out there and making it discoverable while you’re focused on getting really good at what you do…
If Steal Like an Artist was a book about stealing influence from other people, this book is about how to influence others by letting them steal from you.”
~ Austin Kleon from Show Your Work
This is Austin Kleon’s second masterful little book on optimizing creativity.
The first? Steal Like an Artist where he walks us through the “10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative.” (See those Notes as well.)
After learning how to get our creativity on, we’re ready to become the artist whose ideas *others* steal. To make that happen, it’s time to Show Our Work!
I read this in one sitting and loved it. It’s fantastic. Quick, inspiring, and to the point. Austin describes himself as “a writer who draws” and each chapter has a bunch of fun doodles to bring the wisdom home. (Get a copy of the book here.)
If you’re an aspiring creative, I’d put it on the must-read list along with Steven Pressfield’s trilogy The War of Art, Do the Work, and Turning Pro. (Plus: Check out the growing collection of Notes on other great books on creativity.)
For now, let’s jump in!
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