Sermon to Book: Do my Sermons have Book Potential?

By Christopher Mann for ReSermon.com

There is a growing school of thought that self-publishing is the modern era’s “big league” and that traditional publishing like Simon & Schuster of the world are dinosaurs awaiting their extinction. This thinking has some valid points, but I’m not fully convinced, believing that many--not all--publishers are reinventing themselves to adapt to technology.

​For now, traditional publishing and self-publishing are successfully competing in the marketplace, and pastors who want to engage the public square have to make choices that align with their personal values coupled with ever-changing technological and logistical innovation.
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Books vary greatly in length and this should encourage pastors. While the contemporary book market likes to publish 6”x9” trade paperbacks at 250 words per page, meaning that a 75,000 word manuscript will format into about 300 pages, it is important to note that many excellent books throughout history have pierced the heart with both fewer page and greater page counts.​

• Small: CS Lewis's book, A Grief Observed, is about 16,000 words long and many printings of this classic book have it printed around 90 pages. If you were to condense sermons into a book like this, think about 8 - 16 sermons.
• Medium: Andy Stanley's book, Communicating For a Change, is about 81,000 words long over 180 pages.  If you were to condense sermons into a book like this, think about 40-80 sermons.
• Large: Dr. James Dobson's book, Bringing up Boys, is about 152,000 words over 242 pages. If you were to condense sermons into a book like this, think about 75-150 sermons.
• Huge: Wayne Grudem’s Politics According to the Bible is about 330,000 words over 588 pages. If you were to condense sermons into a book like this, think about 150-300 sermons.

Of course, the latter three books represent a different kind of genre in which heavy research, vetting, and peer reviews are more appropriate and required than a self-reflective work like Lewis’ A Grief Observed.

Can your sermons be rolled up into a book?

​ReSermon can help you navigate and many other challenges in the course of repurposing your preached Word into the public square.

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