Thoughts on sharing

An insight into what gave me the necessary push to start this blog. Share Your Work! is a short but very precise book by Austin Kleon. Despite being written for the general public, scholars and young researchers can learn a lot from what he has to say.

February 05, 2022

At first, I thought sharing my ideas online would be a frightening experience. I felt I wasn't ready to put myself out there. Who would want to read anything I wrote? Would the content be useful to anyone? Nevertheless, self-promotion has never been something I enjoyed or was looking for. 

However, during the holidays I came across a great book called Share Your Work! by Austin Kleon. It made me far more comfortable, changed my mindset about sharing online, and was a timely incentive for me to start this blog. 

It's already been a month since I set up this personal website. I shared my two first blog posts on social media and the experience has been great. A couple of people reached out to thank me for sharing the apps I've been using and the literature organizer template. After all, you don't need to be an expert. As Austin Kleon says, sharing your work will attract an audience with the same interest as yours. 

The book is divided into ten chapters where Austin lays out the importance of sharing your process and not only the final product of your work. Although the book seems to be written for artists, scholars and young researchers could learn a lot from what he has to say. Not only it's a great exercise, but it can also help your research reach more people and break academic barriers. 

1. You don't have to a be genius.

The myth of creativity and the lone genius is outdated. People which support each other during the process of work generally reach their goals faster and harvest better results. The key message here is that you don't have to be an expert to show people what you've been working on or teach others skills that you have gained. Amateurs understand what it's like to be a beginner. This can come out in handy when teaching others. 

2. Think process, not product.

Document your process and share what you think could be useful to others. Maybe someone is trying to learn the same thing as you and is unsure of the path to take. Nonetheless, you'll be able to create connections that may help with your work in progress. "By letting go of our egos and sharing our process, we allow for the possibility of people having an ongoing connection with us and our work, which helps us move more of our product."

3. Share something small every day.

Do I need to share only what I assume is great? No. In fact, how do you know that your work is good or bad if it's not available for others to see and react to? Austins creates a great tool to decide on what to share. Ask yourself "Will this potentially help at least one person in the world?" If so, share it.

4. Open up your cabinet of curiosities

You don't necessarily have to start sharing your own work. You can also let other people know your taste in the work of others. That is exactly the case with this blog post! Of course, always credit them. 

5. Tell good stories.

Turn the process of sharing your work into stories. People love good stories. Austin says that "stories you tell about the work you do have a huge effect on how people feel and what they understand about your work, and how people feel and what they understand about your work affects how they value it."

6. Teach what you know.

We shouldn't think of teaching as revealing the secret recipe for what we have achieved. You're actually letting people understand what you do and eventually, they'll be even more interested in what you share.

7. Don’t turn into human spam.

"If you want to be accepted by a community, you have to first be a good citizen of that community. If you're only pointing to your own stuff online, you're doing it wrong." And, "stop worrying about how many people follow you online and start worrying about the quality of people who follow you."

8. Learn to take a punch.

This part is inevitable. When you share your work, you're going to be faced with criticism. Don't let it discourage you. "The more criticism you take, the more you realize it can't hurt you."

9. Sell out.

Here is a tricky one. "Asking for money in return for your work is a leap you want to take only when you feel confident that you're truly worth something. Don't be afraid to charge for your work, but put a price on it that you think is fair."

10. Stick around.

Last but not least, it will take time until you reach people that are interested in your work. Feedback and connections may not instantaneous. The advice Austin gives here is simply not to quit. Eventually, you'll need to reinvent yourself, but it's also part of the process!