Steal Like an Artist

10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative

Contributors

By Austin Kleon

Formats and Prices

Price

$14.95

Price

$19.95 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Trade Paperback $14.95 $19.95 CAD
  2. ebook $9.99 $12.99 CAD
  3. Hardcover $24.95 $30.95 CAD

This item is a preorder. Your payment method will be charged immediately, and the product is expected to ship on or around February 28, 2012. This date is subject to change due to shipping delays beyond our control.

Unlock your creativity.

An inspiring guide to creativity in the digital age, Steal Like an Artist presents ten transformative principles that will help readers discover their artistic side and build a more creative life.
 
Nothing is original, so embrace influence, school yourself through the work of others, remix and reimagine to discover your own path. Follow interests wherever they take you—what feels like a hobby may turn into you life’s work. Forget the old cliché about writing what you know: Instead, write the book you want to read, make the movie you want to watch.
 
And finally, stay Smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring in the everyday world so that you have the space to be wild and daring in your imagination and your work.

 “Brilliant and real and true.”—Rosanne Cash
 

Excerpt

HOW TO LOOK AT THE WORLD (LIKE AN ARTIST)

Every artist gets asked the question,
“Where do you get your ideas?”

The honest artist answers,
“I steal them.”

How does an artist look at the world?

First, you figure out what’s worth stealing, then you move on to the next thing.

That’s about all there is to it.

When you look at the world this way, you stop worrying about what’s “good” and what’s “bad”—there’s only stuff worth stealing, and stuff that’s not worth stealing.

Everything is up for grabs. If you don’t find something worth stealing today, you might find it worth stealing tomorrow or a month or a year from now.

“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.”
—David Bowie


NOTHING IS ORIGINAL

The writer Jonathan Lethem has said that when people call something “original,” nine out of ten times they just don’t know the references or the original sources involved.

What a good artist understands is that nothing comes from nowhere. All creative work builds on what came before. Nothing is completely original.

It’s right there in the Bible: “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

Some people find this idea depressing, but it fills me with hope. As the French writer André Gide put it, “Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”

If we’re free from the burden of trying to be completely original, we can stop trying to make something out of nothing, and we can embrace influence instead of running away from it.

“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.”
—William Ralph Inge

Genre:

  • "This fast read is for anyone who’d like to be more creative." – Tim Ferris 

    “The book is filled with engaging anecdotes and helpful tips taken from Kleon’s experience learning to walk on his own creative feet, as well as quotes and stories from big names, ranging from Gide to Goethe to Questlove. – Fast Company co.Design
     
    “Immersing yourself in Steal Like an Artist is as fine an investment in the life of your mind as you can hope to make.” – TheAtlantic.com
     
    “Steal Like An Artist is an actually readable manifesto on how to properly squeeze your brain-juices and unlock your potential.” – Thrillist

On Sale
Feb 28, 2012
Page Count
160 pages
ISBN-13
9780761169253

Austin Kleon

About the Author

Austin Kleon is the New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, Keep Going, and the Steal Like an Artist Journal, together with over 1 million copies in print. He speaks frequently about creativity in the digital age for such organizations at Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and children, and online at austinkleon.com.

Learn more about this author