What's Your Gimmick?
Yesterday my son and I were browsing in the bookstore. He asked me why all Dick Francis novels have a picture of a horse on the cover.
“Because his stories are set around horseracing,” I said. “It’s his gimmick.”
“What’s your gimmick?” my son asked.
“I guess I don’t really have one.”
“You should make poker your gimmick.”
“Hmm. I guess I could have a character who’s a professional gambler, a guy who goes to all the big poker tournaments. Of course, it would take a lot of research. I would have to live that life for a while.”
He laughed. “Yeah, sure. Research. That’s what you could call it.”
See, my son thinks life on the road as a gambler sounds exciting and glamorous. I’m not so sure about that, but a poker theme for mysteries does sound like a decent gimmick.
So what’s your gimmick? Do you have one? Does a series sell better with a gimmick?
“Because his stories are set around horseracing,” I said. “It’s his gimmick.”
“What’s your gimmick?” my son asked.
“I guess I don’t really have one.”
“You should make poker your gimmick.”
“Hmm. I guess I could have a character who’s a professional gambler, a guy who goes to all the big poker tournaments. Of course, it would take a lot of research. I would have to live that life for a while.”
He laughed. “Yeah, sure. Research. That’s what you could call it.”
See, my son thinks life on the road as a gambler sounds exciting and glamorous. I’m not so sure about that, but a poker theme for mysteries does sound like a decent gimmick.
So what’s your gimmick? Do you have one? Does a series sell better with a gimmick?
posted by Jude Hardin | 7:42 AM
7 Comments:
Of course, someone's already doing poker mysteries.
I was going to say . . . poker's been done. But yes, a gimmick (hook, whatever) does make it easier to sum up your private eye and differentiate him.
E
I agree, Erica. I just need to predict the next hot activity that might make a good gimmick. Hmmm...
Actually, I interviewed Jay MacLarty (a novelist) a couple years ago and at one point in his life he made a living gambling on horse racing. I was intrigued and he noted that although he lived in Vegas, to make a living in horse racing you needed to go back and forth to NYC and LA and he made a great living at it for a while, but then he quit because he was away from his kids too much.
Hi Mark:
Maybe that was before off track betting. Seems like now you could live almost anywhere and bet as many races as you wanted to.
You've just inspired me to become a Chippendale.
Stephen:
You want to become a piece of furniture?
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