Austin Kleon made a career out of telling people it's okay to steal ideas (and, rightfully so), show their half-assed work, and basically just keep creating even when everything feels like a steaming pile of crap. If creativity had a love child with a zero-fucks-given attitude, it'd be Austin Kleon.

He wrote four amazing books. Newspaper blackouts, Steal like an artist, Show your work!, and Keep going. I was curious to know how did he go about creating these and it's fascinating how simple it was!

Book 1: Newspaper blackouts

Austin Kleon, fresh out of college, was sending his writing to literary journals, hoping for approval. After facing numerous rejections, he decided to reach readers directly through a blog.

Struggling with writer's block, he glanced at a stack of old newspapers and had an epiphany: while he couldn't write, newspapers were already filled with words. He began outlining interesting words, blacking out the rest, and connecting the remaining phrases.

He started publishing this approach of "Newspaper blackouts" on his blog. His journey to becoming a bestselling author started.

Watch this video where he talks about the journey of Newspaper blackouts.

Kleon used existing newspaper articles as source material and permanent markers to black out words, leaving only selected phrases visible. That's it!

Book 2: Steal like an artist

After gaining some recognition for his Newspaper Blackouts, Kleon was invited to speak to college students about creativity. Reflecting on his own journey, he jotted down ten things he wished he'd known when starting out.

These points resonated deeply with the audience, and the talk quickly went viral online. This response from audience made Kleon realise that he had stumbled upon something significant.

He expanded these ideas into a book proposal, mixing his personal experiences and observations about creativity. The compilation became "Steal like an artist," a manifesto that would challenge conventional notions of originality.

Watch this video where he goes deep into talking about this book and ideas behind it!

Book 3: Show your work!

As "Steal Like An Artist" gained popularity, Kleon started receiving a recurring question from his readers: "How do I get my work noticed?"

Reflecting on his own journey from casual blogger to bestselling author, he realised the importance of sharing one's creative process. Kleon began collecting ideas and observations about how artists and creatives could share their work effectively in the digital age.

He experimented with various sharing methods on his own blog and social media and noted what worked and what didn't. These experiences and insights gradually came together into the concept for "Show Your Work!"

Watch this video where he talks about the journey of creating this book.

Book 4: Keep going

After the success of his previous 3 books, Kleon found himself struggling with the pressure to maintain his creativity. He began to question how artists sustain their practice over a lifetime.

Kleon started compiling strategies for staying creative in challenging times from his own experiences. These ideas first took shape as a talk and the response from the audience convinced him that he had tapped into a universal need among creatives.

Over the next year, Kleon expanded this talk into a full-fledged book, with personal anecdotes, practical advice, and inspirational quotes. The result was "Keep Going," a lifeline for creatives facing burnout and self-doubt.

Here's a 30-minutes video where Austin talks about the book Keep going.

For all his books, he used a dual-desk setup: one analog desk for writing and drawing, and one digital desk for editing and publishing. Read more about his writing process, tools etc. in this fun QnA style interview.

If you're new to Austin's books, in this interview, he suggests Steal like an artist for somebody who's just starting out and needs a kickstart. Show your work is for the person that has found their thing but who need to self promote or need to get their work out there. And Keep going is for people who are trying to make a career out of creative work — people who are trying to be in it for the long haul.

My takeaways:

• Stealing is good. In fact, it's fucking essential for creativity. Just don't be an ass about it.

• The more you suck at something, the more you should show it off. Perfection is overrated and well…quite boring.

• Facing writer's block or creator's block? Destroy a newspaper. You might accidentally create art and definitely won't be bored anymore.

• Success might just be the result of being too stubborn to quit when faced with a pile of rejection letters. So, maybe being a hard-headed crazy is a good thing?

• Having a maximalist desk setup is okay. Creating separate spaces for for digital work and analogue thinking is better.

• One of his favourite books is Daily Rituals: How Artists Work. I've had it for a while now in the library but going to pick it up this month as a side-read.

Liked this & interested to know even more? Here's Austin's AMA on Reddit and a great interview on The great discontent. Check them out!