Preparing an index

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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.
	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 about 5% of the total pages of a book when the index is set in two columns. 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 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.

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