Lincoln, Nebraska, author David Kubicek’s books include the novel In Human Form, short story collection The Moaning Rocks and Other Stories, and the Cliffs Notes for Willa Cather’s My Antonia. He’s written hundreds of articles for the Midlands Business Journal, Nebraska Life, Humanities and other publications. He’s edited two short story anthologies, The Pelican in the Desert and Other Stories of the Family Farm and October Dreams: A Harvest of Horror (with co-editor Jeff Mason). His story “Ball of Fire” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
How long have you been writing and what got you started?
I’ve been writing publishable fiction for 43 years (the first story an editor accepted and paid for was written in 1976 and most of what I wrote before then has been scrapped). I caught the writing bug when I was in high school and my Mom gave me a bargain bin paperback copy of The Martian Chronicles. After reading it, I wanted to write cool stories like Ray Bradbury.
What is the best piece of advice you have for new writers?
Ask people to read your work and give you feedback (they must understand that they are to give you constructive criticism so you can improve), write every day and never give up.
What is your favorite type of fiction and who are your favorite authors?
I’ve always been partial to science fiction and supernatural fantasy because those are the areas on which I cut my writing teeth, but I’ve written a good deal of mainstream and literary fiction, and sometimes even blend genres. I like lots of authors, but a few of my favorites are Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, John Steinbeck and J.K. Rowing (her Harry Potter books).
How do you measure success when it comes to your writing?
I measure success by the completed project, whether it is published or not, or whether it sells lots of copies or not. The question I ask is: Is it a good story? I keep track of the words I write just as a yardstick of how much I’m getting done, but lots of those words may be scrapped and replaced in revision.
What tips do you have for finding time to write?
Block out some time to write every day, and try to write at the same time each day. It can be a little as one hour a day, but it’s important to be consistent.
Do you favor the traditional route or self-publishing?
I’m playing both sides of the fence right now because the publishing industry is in transition. Also, since the rise of the internet, traditional publishers expect authors to do the lion’s share of promoting themselves, which authors have to do when they’re self-published.
What do you think the publishing industry will look like twenty-five years from now?
Publishing is moving toward a digital model (e-books are about 20% of the market now). I don’t know how much that will have progressed in 25 years, but in 100 years I think physical books will be a thing of the past, like the horse and buggy is to the car for transportation today.
How do you deal with rejections?
Even after so many years in the business, rejections are momentarily irritating, but I don’t dwell on them. A rejection means that a story didn’t strike a chord with one editor; another editor might be love it (I’ve had lots of personal experience with that). I even wrote a blog post called “Rejections of Famous Writers Before They Were Famous”, which can be found on my website.
In your opinion, how important is a writing degree or MFA when it comes to achieving success in writing fiction?
Not at all important (Ray Bradbury only graduated high school). The best education a writer can have is to read voraciously and to write every day, which is exactly what Bradbury did—he was an avid reader, and he wrote a short story each week, starting when he was very young and continuing for the rest of his life.
Is there anything you’d like to plug? Feel free to share a link?
Check out the Books page of my website—you might find some things that will pique your interest: https://davidkubicekwriter.com/books/
