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Preparing an index
The British Standard defines an index as 'a systematic arrangement
of entries designed to enable users to locate information in a document'. (BS
ISO 999:1996)
Who?
You might well think you are the best person to provide the index - you know your way round the
book better than anyone else. It is possible that you are in the best position to know what the
reader is most likely to look up. There are, however, professional indexers who can
undertake the task if you lack the time, expertise or inclination.
A good indexer:
 | Can empathise with potential readers. |
| Has the mind of a systems analyst so they can select the key concepts for
the index. |
| Knows the subject so is able to identify the significance of words. |
An outsider might also provide a refreshing perspective on your work.
Why?
An index enables readers to search for terms, half-remembered quotes or names.
One or more good indexes are an excellent way to promote the utility of some
types of work. Look upon an index as the 'search engine' for your book. Unless
you are dealing with fiction, you would probably benefit from at least
one index.
When?
Page numbers cannot be inserted until the book has been typeset. However,
modern indexers use sophisticated software to help them produce an index.
This allows them to provide the information in the format specified by the
designer. A good time to list the items for your index is when you do one of the final
reads. You will need to provide the index to the designer as part of the manuscript.
If your book is to be published through WritersPrintShop, you can if you wish decide to work from a proof
copy of the book, but you will have to pay the revision fee when you have prepared
the index. This increases the cost and will delay publication.
How much?
As a rule of thumb the index of an academic book might occupy 10-15% of the
page count. For a 'trade' book 5% of the text pages for an index based on a two-
column setup for the index.
The purpose of the index is to help readers find their way round your book.
Only key concepts and names should be indexed; an over-detailed index is not
always helpful. So preparing an index is not a trivial task.
What?
Most books need only one index (a subject index, or a combined subject and
names index), although some specialised books may require an index of names as
well as an index of subjects.
An index goes after the main text. It should not be confused with a table of
contents or chapter headings which precede the text. However every book is an individual and
you, as the author (and publisher), have to decide what is appropriate.
There are 2 stages involved in making a good index:
- Assemble the words. It is possible that you might want an index of
names or places separate from the main index. However, even with the aid of
software, this is a lot of work.
- Put in the page references. There is software to help this process
but, alas, the page numbers you need exist inside the graphic design software
which does not have suitable software to help you with this.
Tips & Conventions
| The key word should be a noun rather than an adjective:
 | Thus 'Books, production of, French' |
| not 'Production of books' & 'French books' |
|
| It is important that you are consistent, as the user will soon master your
logic. But if you put in 'Novel; horror, gothic, romantic' and later 'French
novels' and 'American writing' the reader will become frustrated. |
| Arrange the words alphabetically (prepositions don't count) either:
| Word by word |
| Letter by letter |
|
| Word by word
gas burner
gas pipes
gas tap
gasket
|
Letter by letter
gas burner
gasket
gas pipes
gas tap
|
| Avoid or ignore prepositions. |
| Ignore the definite article 'Bible', 'Koran' not 'The Bible' & 'The
Koran'. |
| Book titles and laws are listed under the first word after the definite
article. |
| If you have more than 5 sub-entries, try to divide them with another index
entry. |
| A list of acronyms or abbreviations used in your book is useful but can be
incorporated into the index. |
| The foreword, bibliographies, preface and any page of copy about the book are not indexed. |
| Avoid the temptation to list in chronological order.
| So 'Book; copy-edit, edit, print, write'. |
| not 'Book; write, edit, copy-edit, print'. |
|
| Integrity requires you to index those whose work has a major impact on
your book or whom you
quote directly. |
| Saints and other ancient characters are indexed under their forenames. |
| An entry should not start with a capital letter unless it is
a proper name. |
| Illustrations might have their own index or can be distinguished by
printing the page in italic. |
| Cross-references can be useful.
| Book; copy-edit, edit, print, write see also Novels, Editions |
|
If someone prepares an index for you, they are entitled to
assert their copyright so this needs to form part of any agreement. What you,
if you are a self-publisher, want is a royalty-free right to use the index in
exchange for a fee.
For a detailed description of how to make an index:
Making an index using Word®
For a review of three indexing software packages:
Index Creation
Software
Some links
Society of indexers (UK)
http://www.indexers.org.uk
http://www.the-indexer.com/iu/indexers_unlimited.htm
http://www.wellchosenword.com/prfIserv.htm
| Cindex software |
http://www.indexres.com/cindex.html
| Sky indexing software |
http://www.sky-software.com/
| Professional indexers: |
http://www.cpynebookindexing.com/
Back to Pre-production | |
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