Posted on December 5, 2019 at 3:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
If you thought that your story needed to be brand-new or buzzworthy on its own to license, Kristine Kathryn Rusch wants you to think again.
She uses the current surge of Die Hard merchandise as an example.
The movie came out in 1988, and over the years, it’s picked up huge cultural cachet as a nontraditional Christmas movie.
So last year, not only did 20th Century Fox issue an anniversary edition, but it also rebranded it in keeping with Americans’ affection for it as a holiday film.
In addition to that, Fox licensed sixteen Die Hard-themed products like sweaters, mugs, socks, and many more.
Rusch’s point: Did Fox just release this story? Nope. Is it popular because of its central focus (Bruce Willis's character)? Also nope. Did Fox come up with the reason that it is popular? One more nope.
But did Fox decide how to capitalize on these facts? Absolutely.
Read more of Rusch’s reflections on how this applies to authors in her latest business musings post.
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Categories: Behind the scenes