H. Peter Nennhaus, a retired surgeon and Illinois resident, was raised in Berlin and became a U.S. citizen in 1961. He is the author of Boyhood, the 1930s and World War II, Memories, Comments and Views from the Other Side. Among his various interests, the study of the history of the 20th century, the Holocaust, and anti-Semitism has been a persistent focus.

You can visit his website at www.outskirtspress.com/quovadisirael.  

Welcome to Beyond the Books, Peter! Can we start out by telling us whether you are published for the first time or are you multi-published?

I published one book in 2002.

What was the name of your very first book regardless of whether it was published or not and, if not published, why?

Is was entitled Boyhood, The 1930s and the Second World War, Memories, Comments, and Views from the Other Side. It deals with my childhood, which I spent in Berlin during the war.

For your first published book, how many rejections did you go through before you either found a mainstream publisher, self-published it, or paid a vanity press to publish it?

I was stubborn. I must have sent it to 20 publishers but it was rejected by all of them. I then accepted an offer by a subsidy publisher.

How did the rejections make you feel and what did you do to overcome the blows?

It was very discouraging. I was wondering whether the text was considered politically not correct enough or whether the quality of my writing was the reason for rejection. English is my second language, so that was a possibility. Nevertheless, I didn’t give in.

When your first book was published, who published it and why did you choose them?

It was published by Chandler House Press of Worcester, MA. I went through some soul searching but in the end decided, this was my only chance.

How did it make you feel to become published for the first time and how did you celebrate?

I received my author copies three days before Christmas and thought that was most appropriate. But there were early misgivings: Once the whole order of 300 books was delivered and I took them to my basement, I realized that getting them into the book trade was up to me as the publisher, apart from giving some advice, washed his hands of it.

What was the first thing you did as for as promotion when you were published for the first time?

Being a novice in the field and lacking any sort of business instinct, I struggled along with contacting bookstores, suggesting book signings and talks, contacting newspapers, and offering it to local libraries, but encountered little echo. There was one Barnes & Noble book signing but it was attended by only a single couple. The most successful event was a talk I was invited to give at a synagogue. An adventurous undertaking, I felt, for a German to tell a Jewish audience of 85 listeners about his experiences during the war and Holocaust, but it was well received with praise and many thank-yous. Nonetheless, the books I exhibited in the local bookstore never sold.

If you had to do it over again, would you have chosen another route to be published?

I certainly would choose a demand self-publisher such as the one I used for my present book, Outskirts Press, as they render a flood of assistance in book promotion after the book is out on the market.

Have you been published since then and how have you grown as an author?

I love to write, it gives me pleasure. I also paint pictures, landscapes, botanicals, portraits and that gives me pleasure too. It’s the art of creating something beautiful or intelligent, and so is writing. It’s arduous, though, for like painting a portrait, it’s got to be perfect.

Looking back since the early days when you were trying to get published, what do you think you could have done differently to speed things up? What kind of mistakes could you have avoided?

Blessed if I know. Writing is like creating a flower garden. You design it artistically as best you can, but you still have to accept what nature makes of it. The creativeness is in your mind and your heart, you’re stuck with it. Don’t try to change it, it won’t work.

What has been the biggest accomplishment you have achieved since becoming published?

It is the remarkable approval of my first book that keeps coming in at a steady pace. They tell me, in standard publishing the success is prompt and brief, whereas in self-publishing the echo grows slowly. That has certainly been the case in my Boyhood book where the approval rating has been most gratifying.

If you could have chosen another profession, what would that profession be?

In my case, it’s the other way around. I used to be a surgeon and it has been only after my retirement that I have had the time to enjoy this most satisfying life of an artist and a writer. That’s what I will do the rest of my days.

Would you give up being an author for that profession or have you combined the best of both worlds?

Right now, I wouldn’t change a thing. This is it!

How do you see yourself in ten years?

Now that’s an interesting question. My writing career will very definitely be subordinated to my longevity. I definitely hope to be around then and still writing.

Any final words for writers who dream of being published one day?

By all means, go for it! If you find a mainstream publisher, so much the better. But it looks to me, because of the internet, self-publishing is wide open today and different from what it was twenty years ago. Maybe you will not succeed, so what? The fun is in the effort to express your thoughts and feelings. Reach out for the stars – even if you fail, its beats watching television.