This book was a lot of fun to read and it did convince me to be less self-conscious about sharing my work with others, not just writing, but art work too. It is true you don't have to be a genius to be creative, and you don't have to paint like Rembrandt to be happy with the kind of art work you're producing. There's room for many different kinds of creatives in this world.

Another idea offered in this book is to think process and not product. That's such a valuable tip, because the joy of producing art is so much more important than having a portfolio of old paintings in the corner. I think it is the process that has to be a goal because if we don't enjoy the process of creating, then what will be the motivation to continue? As with anything, it is practice that improves our skill sets.

This book was a joy to read because of the format... it was created with a lot of creativity and that appeals to me as both an artist and a writer.

Show Your Work! is about various ways to "put yourself out there," as an artist or professional. I enjoyed the gist of utilizing social media in order to interact with your "fanbase," to learn/share what others make, and to get feedback/critique of your work. However, I felt like this was not as fleshed out as it could have been. You can basically read the chapter titles and know exactly what the actions described in the book are going to be. I guess I was expecting it to be more in depth about different ways you could engage. I don't particularly agree with the idea of "posting something every day," but that is an unfortunate reality for most artists these days - there is so much interaction online that in order to be seen you have to keep making yourself visible. I also didn't agree with the concept that if you don't know the creator of a work and can't cite them, you shouldn't share it at all. One of the best ways to find art you love is to share things that interest you and ask if your "followers" know more about it. Much of the art on the internet is not watermarked, and things get shared around so much that it can be difficult to trace it to the original source. As long as you aren't trying to plagiarize the work and pass it off as your own, I think posting it with a clear caption that you aren't sure who the artist is and would like to see if others know is more than sufficient.

I guess I was expecting some creative prompts or "challenges" out of this book, and that is why I was disappointed. It read more like a business book than an art book and even though it is short, it took me three hours to read it since it is more about the "marketing" and "consumer" aspects of art and is mostly plain text with some very basic "blackout/found poetry" art and some flow-charts to illustrate the concepts. I am still interested in Steal Like an Artist, but I feel like Show Your Work! could have been a short TEDTalk or "Top 10" YouTube video for how simple it was.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Austin Kleon's books are the kick in the pants that most artists need to get out of their heads and get to work. "Show Your Work!" will inspire you to not only get down to making art, but not be afraid to share what you are working on- the good, the bad, and the downright ugly and unpolished. I'm not looking to get "discovered" but I am shy about posting/sharing my art, and Austin Kleon has convinced me that it's really okay to go ahead and get it out there. I needed this book and I'm so glad I read it.