John Herring · Birmingham, Alabama
I help authors, leaders, and ministries connect ideas to reality.
Ideas worth
exploring.
Iron Stream Media · Brookstone
01
After more than forty-five years in pastoral ministry, I've spent the second half of my career doing something that feels remarkably similar: helping people say what matters.
These days that calling runs through publishing. I'm the CEO and owner of Iron Stream Media, a company now home to roughly a thousand titles and four hundred authors.
Along the way I earned a doctorate in educational ministry, and decades of study in Scripture still shape how I listen, how I edit, and how I work with people. Birmingham, Alabama is home. It's where I write, meet with authors, and drink more coffee than I probably should. That work is rooted in Christian faith. I believe people are entrusted with gifts and ideas worth developing, and helping them do that is what carried me from ministry into publishing.
If I'm honest about what sets my work apart, it isn't scale or machinery. It's a gift for spotting connections: between people, between ideas, between an author and exactly the right editor or designer or distributor. Ideas matter to me. But people matter more, and the best part of this work is developing both.
Many authors and leaders have important ideas, but they're not sure how to bring them to life. I come alongside as a guide, refining the message and connecting people with editors, designers, and distributors so their work reaches who it was meant for.
It's not just a book. It's impact.
Two paths
Iron Stream Media
For ministries, churches, and organizations that need a publishing and distribution partner, and authors who arrive through an agent or a writers' conference, ready for a traditional contract. Iron Stream is a traditional publisher and distribution infrastructure: we select projects, produce them, hold the rights, and pay royalties.
Learn about Iron Stream MediaBrookstone Creative Group
For individual authors who want to self-publish a professional-quality book on their own accounts (KDP, IngramSpark) and keep ownership of their work. Three pillars: Ownership. Guidance. Education.
Learn about BrookstoneMy passion is helping people develop meaningful ideas, connect with the right people and resources, and see those ideas make a lasting impact.
John Herring
