“Show Your Work!” is a great book for those looking to share their creative process. Written in an easy-to-read style, it encourages readers to share the steps they took to create their work, not just the final product. The author believes that by doing so, you’ll gain a following and improve your own work.
There’s a lot of fun art work. Even though the book is a couple of hundred pages long, it only takes about an hour to read. It’s an hour well spent.
The book uses real-world examples to illustrate its points, like stories and case studies of successful creatives. These examples show how the concepts discussed can be applied in the real world and help readers understand how to adapt the ideas to their own situation.
Some of my takeaways
In part, that’s why I built the new ‘Blog’ section of JetsonHacks. There are a couple things I like about the idea. First, it puts accountability on the creator. When was the last time I did a video, a blog post, an article? Blogs are short posts, there could be a few a week. Second, it helps tell everyone what’s coming down the pike.
Credit is always due
Another take away is to share credit where it is due. This is a major mistake a lot of people make. By sharing credit and giving references, you are actually increasing your social score and network reach. Too many people (especially engineers) attempt to ‘black box’ their creations. “This is MY idea”. This might be appropriate in a corporate environment, where you can’t share. In the new social networking world, it’s a red flag. It stops other people from connecting with you.
One of the highlights of the book is Kleon’s use of real-world examples to illustrate his points. He includes stories and case studies of artists, writers, and other creatives who have successfully shared their work and built a following as a result. These examples are a great way to see how the concepts discussed in the book can be applied in the real world. It helps readers understand how to adapt the ideas to their own specific situation.
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