A few years ago, a friend mentioned that she was thinking of becoming an indexer. “What’s that?” I asked. My interest is always piqued by anything having to do with books. She told me that it is creating back of the book indexes for all different kinds of non-fiction books. I was intrigued, but I was teaching full time and working on my own writing, too, and still had one of my daughters living with me. It wasn’t the right time to add something new to my life.
It sat in the back of my mind, though. And when I decided it was time to leave my teaching position–after almost 20 years–I remembered. And I asked her about it again. She told me that her indexer friend recommended a course called “Indexing: Theory and Application” offered through the University of California at Berkeley extension program. I signed up for and completed this 6-month course covering the basics of indexing. It was challenging and fascinating–and fun!
I love books, and I love organizing. I’ve worked as both an editor and writer, and here was one more thing I could do with a book. The idea of making someone’s book accessible to their readers makes me happy.
I would love to create an index for your book.
But first, let me answer some
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is an index?
We have all probably used indexes at one time or another. I use them in my cookbooks all of the time to find a recipe that contains a certain ingredient I don’t know what to do with, or that recipe I wanted to make when my book club comes over for dinner and all I can remember is that it’s Thai and started with a “P” or to find what page a certain recipe is on if I do remember the name. An index is a place to look things up in a lot more detail than a table of contents. They can direct a reader to important ideas, topics, events, facts, names of people or places and so on, organizing them in a way that makes it easy for a reader to find what she is looking for. After the topic, idea, etc., is what is called a locator. The locator tells you where to find the information you’re looking for. It’s usually a page number or section number.
An index is more than just a list of keywords. It provides various access points to get to information and ideas. For example, if you’re trying to look up some information about automobiles, you can find it listed under “automobiles” or “cars” or perhaps “vehicles.” This is a simple example, but key concepts can be listed under multiple headings so that the reader can look at any one of them and find what he is looking for.
2. Do I really need an index?
If you are publishing a non-fiction book, then the answer is YES!. An index plays a vital role in helping your reader access your book. Not having an index has been shown to reduce sales. When I am buying non-fiction book, I generally look at both the table of contents and the index to see if the book covers the topics I’m interested in. If there’s no index, I probably won’t buy it. And this is true for many readers. After all of the author’s hard work in writing a book, why wouldn’t you want to take the step of making your book more useful to your readers?
3. Can I index it myself?
Yes, an author can write their own index. Anyone can write an index. But not anyone can write a good index. Indexing is a different art and skill than writing a book. Even if an author knows how to create indexes, she may be too immersed in her book to be able to step back and look at the text from a reader’s point of view. While the author is the expert on their topic, an indexer can read the manuscript with the reader in mind, as well as with an understanding of how an index is created and how to create an index that meets industry standards.
Bottom line: If you don’t have the time, energy, training or experience to write a good index, then hire an indexer.
4. Can a computer create an index for me?
Not exactly. There are computer programs that can produce a list of keywords along with page numbers or other locators–this is called a concordance, not an index.There are also special computer programs that an indexer can use to do many of the mundane tasks of indexing–they will automatically alphabetize entries and put entries with the same headings or subheadings together. Indexers used to do these tasks manually. These programs are great time savers, but they are just programs. They can’t create a structure or give names to concepts and group them together into a cohesive whole using language accessible to a reader.
5. What does an indexer need in order to provide an estimate on an indexing project?
These are the things that I need to create an estimate:
- a sample chapter, which can be in draft form
- table of Contents–again it doesn’t need to be final
- deadline information
- any style guidelines provided by the publisher
6. What do I need to give the indexer so she can prepare my index?
You need to provide an electronic copy of the PDF of your final pages. It’s important to provide the indexer with pages that have been typeset so that page references will be accurate. It doesn’t matter if there will still be minor corrections.
You do not need to provide a list of words you want in the index–that’s the indexer job. But if you do have a list of important words, by all means, send them along.
7. What do you do when you create an index?
First of all, I do a quick read-through of your book, in order to get an overview of what it’s about and what key ideas you’re trying to convey. Then I get ready to use my dedicated indexing software–I use Cindex–and make sure I’m clear about any space limitations or other requirements. After that, I read every word of your text, pulling out index entries and building a structure for the index as I go. I revise it as I work, too, to create a cohesive whole.
I also do a separate read-through for names, places, case references (for law books) or any other special kind of entries. I like to do these separately so I can concentrate on the ideas first (or second sometimes–I generally do the names, etc when I need a break from thinking). Â I also add entries for terms that might not be in the book but that I think a user might look for–that are related to your topic, of course! After I complete this first draft of the index, I go back and check for accuracy and consistency. I also make a list of questions for the author or editor–and a list of any text errors that I will send along with the completed index. Some questions are saved for the end, but for other questions, I may be in touch with you during the indexing process to make sure that I understand the concepts or for other questions that may arise.
8. How long will it take you to finish my index?
It depends–on the text, the length of the book, the density of indexing required, on how many indexes the book has. Best guess–2 weeks for a short, simpler book and a month for a more complex one.
9. How do I know if an index is good?
The best way to tell if an index is good is to give it a try. Look up a few topics and see if the entries are easy to find and accurately reflect the text. Are the page numbers they refer you to correct? Are there so many subheadings and/or locator numbers under the heading that it’s difficult to find what you are looking for? Are there cross-references that send you to other related topics and help you find your way around the book?
Even a good index may contain some errors. If you find them, let your indexer know so she can make corrections.
10. Further information
If you have any questions, please contact me. I’ll get back to you ASAP.
Also, you can find more information at  Indexing FAQ, American Society of Indexing, and Wikipedia has some fun facts that you can find at Index (publishing).