About Indexing
What is an index?
The American Society for Indexing provides a good description of what indexes and indexing are at http://www.asindexing.org/site/indfaq.shtml. This web site provides answers to the questions “What is indexing?”, “Who does indexing?”, “How is indexing done?”, and “Can’t a computer do the indexing?” among others.
The British Standards Institution defines an index as “a systematic arrangement of entries designed to enable users to locate information in a document.” An index is not just a listing of words and where they can be found in a document; that is a concordance. Concordances can be generated by computers, but computers can’t put terms in context. Indexers use their judgment and knowledge of the subject matter to show the relationships between terms, provide alternate access points (synonyms), and organize entries in a way that is helpful to the reader.
What are the advantages of including a professionally prepared index in my book?
Increasing Sales
- Purchasers of non-fiction books and other publications often use indexes to determine if the topics in which they are interested are included in the text. If an index is incomplete, or if no index is included at all, the potential purchaser of your publication will likely choose a competitor’s publication that clearly includes that topic in its index. By including quality indexes you can ensure that sales won’t be lost because purchasers don’t know what specific topics are covered in your publication.
- Instructors selecting books for classroom use and acquisition librarians can not only determine which topics are included in the text by reviewing the index, but they can be sure that readers will actually be able to find the discussion of those topics. They understand that a well-written index enables readers to locate information efficiently. A book with a clear and well-organized index will be selected instead of one without.
Enhancing Publisher and Author Reputation
- A poorly written index (or the lack of an index) reflects negatively on the author and the publisher. A quality index projects professionalism to purchasers and readers. Insist on an index that meets the high-quality standards that you set for the rest of the publication.
Meeting Quality and Time Requirements
- Professional indexers have experience in creating clear, concise indexes efficiently. We are proficient in selecting terms and organizing them in a way that will enable your readers to find the information that your text provides quickly and easily. We know how to budget time to meet your production schedule, and we are familiar with publishing practices.
- Many indexers, myself included, use dedicated indexing software to create indexes. This software allows us to easily format an index to your specifications. Format and pagination changes can cause long delays when one is creating an index using a word processing program, but many of these changes can be made very quickly when using dedicated indexing software.
- Professional indexers come from all backgrounds. Select an indexer who has knowledge of the subject matter included in your text.
A professional indexer can provide you with a quality index that will increase the value of your publication.
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