I have just finished writing a new book called Revelation for My Grandchildren. It’s my attempt to teach the main truths of this important book on a teen level. This way all my grandchildren will eventually have access to what I learned during a three-year extensive study of its contents.
Even with all the hours of study and then the outlining and writing of the book, I still want as much feedback as I can before submitting my manuscript to a publisher.
At last count I had sent a draft copy to over two dozen people. These 24+ include teens, schoolteachers, business types, fellow ministers, etc. I wanted to get their response BEFORE I send a copy to an acquisition editor.
I’m not talking about comments like, “It was good,” “I liked it,” or “You did your usual fine job.” I wanted to know if anything was unclear. For example, How will these people be different as a result of what they read?
Did they respond? They certainly did. And, they offered extremely valuable comments that helped me revisit various portions of the manuscript. The input from each person who read and responded to the manuscript greatly improved the depth and impact of what I intended to share with potential readers.
Then, in January and February, I preached these themes in an eight-message series in a church in California. After that, I made my final revisions and began to look for a publishing house.
I just wanted you to know that when I write about soliciting help from others in your Sunday sermon preparation, I practice what I preach. I know book-writing and sermon-writing are not identical. Actually I’ve done quite a bit of both, and getting feedback from others and paying attention to it when taking a sermon idea, moving to a sermon outline, and preparing a finished Sunday sermon is far less complicated than requesting help in terms of a book. My contention, however, is that in both cases the collaborative process is extremely important.
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For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.
