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.

How exactly does it work?

Our biblically trained editors will shepherd your sermons through our signature team-reinforced 11-step process.

If you already have audio transcripts, jump to step 2. If you already have a fully drafted manuscript, jump to step 4.

Intake

  1. Audio transcription: We’ll convert your sermon recordings into a single editable document.

  2. Reduction: We’ll eliminate redundancy, verbal pauses, and tangents suitable “for the stage” but not “for the page.”

  3. Developmental editing: We’ll structure each sermon transcript as a book chapter with its own thematic unity, and we’ll fortify transitions so the chapters read logically.

Editing

  1. Line editing and style enhancement: We’ll revise phrasing that worked fine from the pulpit but that doesn’t translate well into prose. We’ll simplify wordiness and explore the best avenues for expressing your point, while remaining faithful to Scripture and to your message.

  2. Copyediting:We’ll eliminate confusing and/or embarrassing punctuation, spelling, and grammatical errors.

  3. Proofreading: We’ll perform a final quality-assurance check after you have approved all revisions.

“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)

Publication Management

  1. 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.

  2. Cover design: We’ll design a cover and write copy for the back and inside flaps (if applicable).

  3. Delivery: We’ll deliver your books to your doorstep and set up your online sales page where anyone can buy a copy.

Promotion

  1. Execute Launch Your Book, Launch Your Congregation: A 10-Step Marketing Plan for Your Sermon-Sourced Book℠

  2. Engage the media through Good Comma Press to distinguish yourself as a thought leader.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We accept the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647, with certain American revisions), while aligning more closely with the 1689 London Baptist Confession on baptism.

    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, as lying beyond our area of expertise.

  • 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).

  • Yes! Approximately 33% of pastors who find us through Sermon-Sourced Books start from material not sourced from their sermons.

  • You may be ahead of the curve. Let’s talk about how we can shepherd your manuscript to completion and publication.

  • We’ve flipped books for churches in under 2 months, but we prefer 4 to 6 months.

  • A series of four to six sermons typically total 40,000 words and reduce to about 20,000 to 25,000 words, resulting in an approachable read < 150 pages.

  • Always included:

    • A comprehensively edited manuscript by biblically trained editors and educators 

    • A fully designed, published book with live links to the purchasing platform

    • Author account and page setup on purchasing platform

    • Guidance through retail pricing selection

    • First order placement at lowest permitted author price (you choose # of books, budget)

    Optional:

    • DIY version of Launch Your Book, Launch Your Congregation: A 10-Step Marketing Plan for Your Sermon-Sourced Book℠, or have us implement it for you.

    • Media engagement/interviews brought to you through Good Comma Press

    1. Whatever resources you have (sermon audio or transcripts or manuscript). If you’re still in the idea phase, consider a series focused on a short book of the Bible, a single biblical figure, or one coherent biblical theme.

    2. A signed agreement confirming specific details that we’ll soon work out with you by Zoom, phone, and email.

    3. Payment of 25% of the projected total charge. (You can pay the rest in monthly installments with no interest.)

  • We’re ready too. Please email teresa@goodcommaediting.com or contact us to schedule a call and get your Sermon-Sourced Book underway!

More Questions?

We’d love to help! Contact us.

“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

More Questions? We’d love to help! Contact us.

  • “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)

  • “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 and Author

    City of Man, Kingdom of God: Why Christians Respect, Obey, and Resist Government (2022)

  • “When it was time to perform a final edit on my book Sharing the Burden: The Samaritan Ministries Story, I turned naturally to Good Comma Editing. At Samaritan, we knew of GCE’s devotion to detail and high standards and wanted that for the book. GCE delivered the goods promptly. I would turn to no other service for my editing needs.”

    — Michael Miller, editor, Samaritan Ministries International, and author of Sharing the Burden: The Samaritan Ministries Story (2020)

  • “Good Comma Editing has been a wonderful, highly skilled, and professional partner in our efforts, providing our team with much-needed research and editorial services. The Heartland Institute highly recommends GCE and its staff of editors and researchers, to whom we have previously entrusted important public policy projects that our donors and supporters care deeply about. When we need editorial help, we turn to Good Comma Editing first, and we wouldn’t think twice about recommending the GCE team to anyone in need of professional editorial services in the future.”

    — Justin Haskins, Senior Fellow at The Heartland Institute and author of several books, including Stopping Socialism: The Moral Case Against Marx’s Radical Dream (2019).

  • “As a first-time author, one of the greatest concerns is the quality of the content. A dream poorly executed will quickly derail an author's expectations, however low or high these expectations may be. When GCE stepped into the conversation, this grave concern turned into growing confidence. GCE’s best-in-class team lays to rest any concern surrounding grammar, vocabulary, and logic through their thorough editing process. Bellwether Blues has been an outstanding success largely because the contents of the book allow the reader to engage the big ideas without the noise of poor logic or faulty grammar. GCE deserves tremendous credit for making that possible.”

    — Jonathan Jakubowski, Author

    Bellwether Blues: A Conservative Awakening in the Millennial Soul (2020) and board chairman of the Forge Leadership Network

  • “Good Comma is a team I can trust. They are truly masters of communication. They are able to speak into projects at the highest levels and into the finest details. They are partners, they are experts, they are friends.” – Brandon West, Founder, PHOS Creative

    – Brandon West, Founder, PHOS Creative