You probably have something right now that you should share, publish, just send out into the world, but chances are you’re not doing it because it’s not quite ready. That’s the perfect thing to share…the not quite ready thing.

People want to see the process as much as they want to see the final work. Think about behind the scenes, or the making of for movies. So many of us love watching how the thing gets made.

We love seeing something being made. Sometimes the process is more intriguing than the final product. That’s the power of getting your work out there while it’s still in progress. Your fans, customers, followers, whatever, they’ll love the final product, but they’ll love it more if they see it happening.

The process is where the emotion gets built. People are connecting to the piece in a deeper way. This doesn’t mean you have to get on camera and talk. You can just show a time lapse of you creating something. Show us how you write music. Or building a sculpture. A painting from pencil sketch on canvas to the layers before the final painting. Or the set up for your photography.

All of that builds a deeper connection because you’re bringing people into your creative soul. They get connected to the work, but they also get connected to you, because they see the artist behind it.

You know who else likes to see work in progress? People who commission work. People who might want to hire you to paint a mural, photograph an event, build a sculpture, write music specifically for them.

Investors behind artists and creatives, agents, managers, producers, all of those kinds of people. They care about the final product, yes, but they also want to see how you do it. They want to see your process.

Often times we don’t share the work in progress because we are afraid and that means you’re caring about the wrong thing. You care that people won’t like your work if you share it while it’s in progress. Well guess what, that’s going to happen anyway. even a completed piece, some people won’t like it.

You care that you’ll be judged on the quality of an incomplete piece.People judge completed pieces too. it doesn’t matter, and the people who are going to judge you no matter what, those people aren’t worth anything anyway to you. Don’t worry about them.

New fans will discover and appreciate your work if you start sharing the process. People behind gate-kept doors, people you want to reach at higher levels, in big positions, at certain companies, may see the work in progress.

You could also get feedback that improves your process.

And if you’ve read this far and you’re thinking, “that’s not my vibe, that’s not really what I want to do,” to that I say: That’s how a starving artist thinks.

This is how a hungry artist sees it: If I’m waiting, I’m not creating. If I’m waiting to share my process and my work, I’m not creating awareness. I’m not creating engagement. I’m not creating connections. Then that means I’m not creating trust. Trust is what leads to opportunity.

The negatives are mostly emotional feelings behind it. I’m not saying that’s invalid. it’s valid. It can be uncomfortable, seeing something negative can feel terrible.

Sharing something unfinished builds community. That’s how a hungry artist operates.

You’re hungry to get your stuff out there. You’re hungry to succeed. You’re hungry to connect.

So you get your work out there for others to see even while you’re making it, even when it’s incomplete, imperfect, not ready.

Because when you finally share the final piece, people will love it even more because they’ll understand what it took to get there.

You may find something in the process you like that I didn’t realize you would.

P.S. Here are a couple things you might like