Show Your Work!: 10 Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered

Austin Kleon demonstrated to readers in his New York Times best-seller Steal Like an Artist how to unleash their creativity via "stealing" from the network of other influential people. Now, he explains how to take the crucial next step on a creative journey—getting known—in an even more forward-thinking and important book.

The topic of Show Your Work! is why kindness outweighs brilliance. Instead than spending time "networking," it's about being discoverable and making use of the network. It's self-discovery, not self-promotion; let others in on your journey, then allow them to take advantage of you. Show Your Work! provides 10 revolutionary guidelines for being courageous, open, giving, and creative. It is chock with of images, quotations, anecdotes, and examples.

Kleon provides a user's handbook for accepting the collaborative aspect of creativity—what he refers to as the "ecology of talent"—in chapters like You Don't Have to Be a Genius, Share Something Small Every Day, and Stick Around. It's an inspirational manifesto for thriving as any kind of artist or entrepreneur in the digital age, with lessons ranging from general life lessons about work (you can't find your voice if you don't use it) to the etiquette of sharing—and the dangers of oversharing—to the practicalities of Internet life (build a good domain name; give credit when credit is due).