You don't have to be a genius—share your process and become a scenius.
Forget about being an expert or a genius, and start thinking of yourself as a scenius. A scenius is the intelligence and intuition of a whole cultural scene.
Book summary
Perennial SellerGoodreads Favorite
Show Your Work!
by Austin Kleon
10 ways to share your creativity and get discovered
Share your creative process and build an audience by showing your work
4.5(7.2k)Published 2014
Topics
CreativitySharingAudience BuildingDigital Presence
Reading companion
How to read Show Your Work! with Readever
Read one chapter per day and immediately implement one sharing habit from that chapter. Use Readever to document your daily sharing experiments and track audience engagement. Focus on Kleon's practical examples of process documentation and storytelling, and set reminders to review your sharing consistency. Use Readever's AI to analyze your sharing patterns and suggest improvements based on your creative goals.
Things to know before reading
- Kleon emphasizes action over perfection—come ready to implement ideas immediately rather than waiting for perfect conditions
- Have one creative project or process in mind that you can start sharing while reading
- The book focuses on generosity rather than self-promotion—approach sharing as giving value to others
- Be prepared to embrace vulnerability by sharing unfinished work and learning publicly
Brief summary
Show Your Work! in a nutshell
Austin Kleon's follow-up to Steal Like an Artist focuses on how to share your creative process and build an audience in the digital age. He provides practical advice for becoming findable, sharing generously, and building community around your work.
Key ideas overview
Show Your Work! summary of 3 key ideas
Kleon argues that in the digital age, sharing your creative process is as important as the finished work itself—it's how you build community, find collaborators, and create opportunities.
Share something small every day—document your process, not just your products.
The real gap is between doing nothing and doing something. If you get in the habit of sharing your work, even in small ways, you'll leave a trail of breadcrumbs that can lead others to your work.
Tell good stories about your work—context creates meaning.
Stories are such a powerful driver of emotional value that their effect on any given object's subjective value can actually be measured objectively.
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Book summaries like Show Your Work!
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Stop worrying about self-promotion and start sharing your creative process authentically.
This summary gives you Kleon's framework for sharing your creative work in ways that feel authentic and build genuine connections. You'll learn to document your process, share unfinished work, and build an audience by being generous with your knowledge and process.
Deep dive
Key ideas in Show Your Work!
Key idea 1
You don't have to be a genius—share your process and become a scenius.
Forget about being an expert or a genius, and start thinking of yourself as a scenius. A scenius is the intelligence and intuition of a whole cultural scene.
Kleon introduces the concept of "scenius" (coined by Brian Eno) as an alternative to the lone genius myth. Scenius is the communal form of genius that emerges from creative scenes and communities. By sharing your process and participating in creative communities, you contribute to and benefit from this collective intelligence.
Remember
- Focus on being part of a creative community rather than a lone genius.
- Share your process and learning openly.
- Contribute to the ecosystem you want to be part of.
Key idea 2
Share something small every day—document your process, not just your products.
The real gap is between doing nothing and doing something. If you get in the habit of sharing your work, even in small ways, you'll leave a trail of breadcrumbs that can lead others to your work.
Rather than waiting to share perfect finished work, Kleon encourages sharing small pieces of your process daily. This could be a sketch, a quote that inspired you, a work-in-progress photo, or something you learned. This consistent sharing builds an audience gradually and authentically.
Remember
- Share something small from your creative process daily.
- Document your work as you go, not just at the end.
- Build an audience through consistent, authentic sharing.
Key idea 3
Tell good stories about your work—context creates meaning.
Stories are such a powerful driver of emotional value that their effect on any given object's subjective value can actually be measured objectively.
The stories you tell about your work—why you made it, what inspired you, what you learned—create meaning and connection for your audience. Good storytelling transforms objects into experiences and builds emotional engagement with your creative work.
Remember
- Share the stories behind your work.
- Explain your process and what you learned.
- Use storytelling to create emotional connection with your audience.
Context
What is Show Your Work! about?
Show Your Work! is Austin Kleon's practical guide to sharing creativity in the digital age. Building on the principles from Steal Like an Artist, this book focuses on the "what next"—how to share your work, build an audience, and create opportunities through authentic sharing of your creative process.
The book addresses common fears about self-promotion and provides a framework for sharing that feels generous rather than boastful. Kleon draws from his own experience as an artist and writer who built his career through sharing his process online.
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Review
Show Your Work! review
Kleon's writing is accessible, practical, and deeply encouraging for creators who feel uncomfortable with self-promotion. The book's visual design—with handwritten text, diagrams, and illustrations—makes the concepts easy to understand and apply. Kleon's approach feels authentic and generous rather than manipulative or sales-focused. Some readers may find the advice basic if they're already experienced with online sharing, but the principles provide a solid foundation for anyone wanting to build an audience authentically.
- Provides a generous, authentic approach to building an audience.
- Offers practical, immediately applicable advice for online sharing.
- Helps overcome the fear and discomfort of self-promotion.
Who should read Show Your Work!?
Artists, writers, and creators wanting to build an audience online.
People uncomfortable with traditional self-promotion.
Anyone wanting to share their creative process more authentically.
Fans of *Steal Like an Artist* looking for the next steps.
About the author
Austin Kleon is an American writer and artist. He is the author of several bestselling books about creativity in the digital age, including Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, and Keep Going. Kleon is known for his newspaper blackout poems and his thoughtful exploration of how artists can navigate the digital landscape while maintaining authentic creative practices.
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Final summary
Show Your Work! provides a generous, authentic framework for sharing your creative process and building an audience in the digital age. By focusing on daily sharing, telling good stories, and contributing to creative communities, you can build genuine connections and create opportunities without feeling like you're engaging in uncomfortable self-promotion. The book transforms sharing from something to fear into a natural part of the creative process.
Inside the book
Show Your Work! represents a significant evolution in how creators approach audience building in the digital age. Kleon's framework transforms self-promotion from something uncomfortable into a natural extension of the creative process itself.
The book's emphasis on "scenius" rather than individual genius provides a healthier, more sustainable model for creative success. By focusing on community contribution rather than individual achievement, creators can build support systems that sustain them through creative challenges and dry spells.
Kleon's advice about daily sharing and process documentation addresses one of the biggest challenges for creators: the gap between private creation and public sharing. By making sharing a daily habit rather than a special event, creators overcome the perfectionism and fear that often prevent work from being shared at all.
The book's generous approach to sharing—focusing on what you can give rather than what you can get—creates authentic connections that are more valuable than transactional relationships. This approach builds audiences that are genuinely interested in the creator's work and journey, rather than just the finished products.
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