Sermon-Sourced Books℠
End-to-end manuscript creation, editing, and publication
We help biblically orthodox churches shepherd their congregations by extending and deepening the impact of their pastors’ sermons.
“My book on biblical eldership was improved significantly by Good Comma’s team of editors. They cared for each word of my manuscript as though it were their own, demonstrated a high view of Scripture, and worked diligently for God’s glory. I recommend using Good Comma Editing.”
— Alexander Strauch, author, Biblical Eldership (updated and completely revised, 2024)
“Sermon-Sourced Books provided a first-class service for our congregation. I was impressed by their ability to transform my sermons into effective prose, and their attention to detail throughout was meticulous.”
— Paul Pyle, Pastor of Discipleship, Patterson Park Church (Ohio); co-author, God in a Word: Five Meditations on the Incarnation of Christ
‘What is Sermon-Sourced Books℠ by Good Comma Editing?’
Sermon-Sourced Books is Good Comma Editing’s end-to-end sermon-to-book (print and e-book) transcription, editing, and publication service. Good Comma Editing has written and edited more than 5 million words as the editorial partner of choice for a diverse network of Christian ministry and business executives leading in liberty, clarity, and conviction. Learn more.
‘What do you want to do with my sermons?’
We’ll transcribe and edit a four- to six-part sermon series (usually 40,000 words) into a 20,000-word (~100-page) published manuscript owned by the pastor or his church. See a sample here.
‘I’m a busy pastor. Are you gonna create a lot of extra work for me?’
No. We’ll own the entire editing process for you, though you’ll get the final say on revisions. You will never have to ship a book to an online buyer (book orders are fulfilled for you).
‘How exactly does it work?’
Our biblically fluent editors will shepherd your sermons through our signature team-reinforced 10-step process:
Audio transcription: We’ll convert your sermon recordings into a single editable document.
Reduction: We’ll eliminate redundancy, verbal pauses, and tangents suitable “for the stage” but not “for the page.”
Reorganization: We’ll structure each sermon transcript as a book chapter with its own thematic unity, and we’ll fortify transitions so the sermon reads logically.
Line-editing: We’ll revise phrasing that worked fine in your sermon but that doesn’t translate well into prose.
Style enhancement: We’ll simplify wordiness and explore the best avenues for expressing your point, while remaining faithful to Scripture and to your message.
Copy-editing: We’ll eliminate confusing and/or embarrassing punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors.
Proofreading: We’ll perform a final quality-assurance check after you have approved all revisions.
Interior layout: This is crucial to making it look like the “real book” that it is. We’ll ensure uniformity of font styles, spacing, and format.
Cover design: We’ll design a cover and write copy for the back and inside flaps (if applicable).
Delivery: We’ll deliver your books to your doorstep and set up your online sales page where anyone can buy a copy.
“Good Comma enabled me to get my message out from my church and into the world. Working with their editors was easy. They quickly grasped the flow of my argument, and their input made it not only much stronger but also much more persuasive.
“The most frequent feedback I’ve gotten from my book has been that people are surprised at how clear it was. Well, that is owing directly to Michael and the team at Good Comma.”
—Jesse Johnson, Lead Teaching Pastor, Immanuel Bible Church (Springfield, Virginia); author, City of Man, Kingdom of God: Why Christians Respect, Obey, and Resist Government (2022)
‘What do my church and I get at the end?’
A fully edited, designed, published manuscript
100+ paperbacks delivered + print on demand + optional e-book (at cost) + additional paperbacks (at cost)
Cover design (paperback and e-book)
Publication management (2 ISBN purchases, printer coordination, metadata optimization, etc.)
Sales page at BookBaby online store (sample); distribution through major online retailers optional
E-book distribution via Amazon, B&N, etc.
Royalties dashboard setup and creation of BookBaby account.
‘What if I already have a manuscript, or if I would rather write a book unconnected to a sermon series?’
Bless you. Let’s talk about how we can shepherd your manuscript to completion and publication.
‘Have you done this before?’
Yes. View some of our Sermon-Sourced Books here, along with several other books we have edited. Our biblically fluent team edited 13 manuscripts in 2021 alone. In all, we have edited more than 5 million client words.
‘What do you need from me to get started?’
Sermon audio from a 4-part to 6-part exegetical, topical, or “topigetical” sermon series of your choice. Consider a series focused on a biblical theme, figure, or short book.
A completely predictable signed agreement and 50% of the bill. (You can pay the rest in monthly installments with no interest.)
‘How soon can you deliver?’
By God’s grace, we’re in a season of high demand. We’ve flipped books for churches in under 60 days, but we prefer 90 to 120 days. The sooner we get started, the better.
‘I’m ready to do this. Can we talk about pricing?’
We’re ready too. Please email carly@goodcommaediting.com or use the contact button below to schedule a call and get your sermon-to-book conversion underway!
“How can a pastor take what he has preached and provide it as an enduring resource for the local church? The team at Good Comma helped us take several advent messages on the living hope of Christ and transformed them into a quality book, providing an enduring resource for our church family.
“You will not find a better team of people to transform your sermons into a book. I am confident you will find both theological depth and editorial acumen beyond your expectations.”
—Joey Turner, Pastor of Student Ministry, Patterson Park Church (Ohio); co-author, God in a Word: Five Meditations on the Incarnation of Christ
“Working with Good Comma was a delightful experience. Their staff’s professionalism and commitment to excellence were encouraging in the publication of our book.”
—Dr. Joe Godwin, Teaching Pastor, Patterson Park Church (Ohio); co-author, God in a Word: Five Meditations on the Incarnation of Christ
What is your theology?
We trend reformed, but we have some diversity within our core team of biblically fluent editors. Below are Good Comma Editing Founder/CEO Michael T. Hamilton’s favorite creeds, confessions, and catechisms to reread and compare:
Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian Creed, Chalcedonian Definition, Augsburg Confession, Belgic Confession, Articles of Religion, Canons of Dort, Westminster Confession, London Baptist Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Westminster Larger Catechism, Westminster Shorter Catechism
In order to provide service of only the highest quality, due to the tight relationship between words and ideas, we may decline to write, edit, or publish writings subversive of the above documents, or subversive of a sincerely held religious belief, as lying beyond our area of expertise.
‘What else can you do to extend and deepen a sermon’s impact on my local congregation?’
Quite a lot, actually.
We’re ready too. Please email carly@goodcommaediting.com or use the contact button below to schedule a call and get your sermon-to-book conversion underway!