Every non-fiction book needs an index: Here’s why
Does my book really need an index? And I have to pay the indexer? Wait, isn’t that the publisher’s job? OK, well can I just put it together myself?
I often hear questions like these from authors I work with. So I explain that an index is an indispensable tool for almost every non-fiction book.
An index enhances the ultimate value of a book
The ultimate value of your book is greatly enhanced by the ability of a good index to locate all the places throughout the work that address specific interests and concerns.
And readers absolutely expect to find one in the back of the book.
Producing a book’s index is one of those little understood, mysterious but essential parts of publishing that happen once the manuscript has been copyedited, checked over by the author, returned to production, and then made into page proofs. Indexing usually begins simultaneously or immediately after final proofing for typos or other egregious errors. At that point, an outside professional indexer steps in.
Here’s the kicker: the author pays
In most publishing contracts, the author pays for the index. That comes as a surprise to many first-time authors, but it’s because the index is considered part of the book’s content – and the author is responsible for providing all the content of a book under contract.
It doesn’t mean the author sits down and writes a check, but rather that the cost is applied to the royalty account as an additional advance. If this advance is never earned out, as is frequently the case, the publisher absorbs the cost in the end.
Nevertheless, who pays for the index often comes up during my negotiations with the author, or more likely, with the agent. This negotiation usually ends in a compromise which caps the author’s contribution at some reasonable figure, up to $750 - $1,000, and the publisher pays the rest.
Why we don’t let the author provide the index
“But no one knows the book better than I do,” an author may say. “Can’t I just get one of those cheap indexing programs and let it scan through the pages looking for keywords?”
Nope — there’s a big difference between an alphabetical list of keywords, which is what indexers call a concordance and a real index that organizes and cross-references the theme and message of the author’s intentions according to topics, individuals, and relationships.
To provide some real expertise on the subject, I interviewed Sylvia Coates, a professional indexer with a reputation as one of the best in the business.
Why does an author need a professional indexer?
No computer software program can provide on its own the professional skills of a good indexer. I respect that the author knows the book best, and I always recommend that an indexer work very closely with the writer to be sure that all the topics, subtopics, and thematic relationships are accurate and arranged in the most useful way.
Indexers also know the conventions and press specifications for providing a professional looking index. An amateurish or poorly executed index can damage the credibility of an otherwise well-written book.
What’s the process of creating an index?
I always read the book very carefully. You have to start with that. And of course it helps if you know something about and understand the subject. Many indexers specialize in certain areas. For example, I would never take on an index for an engineering book. Not for me. But an indexer can be found for any subject.
After reading the book, I determine the main headings and entries by subject, topic, subtopics and thematic relationships. It’s also essential to choose the best terms for each of these, which come from the vocabulary of the work itself.
Do you still keep track of everything on those little index cards?
Oh heavens no. There are some excellent high-end programs like Cindex, Sky or Macrex that are very useful, much better than the kind of inexpensive keyword programs an author might purchase.
I do all the creative and intellectual work of creating and organizing the index, but the software is indispensable in alphabetizing, merging, paginating, and changing the pagination when an entry is added or revised because of a correction or addition in the text.
What do you say to the author who wants to go it alone?
Indexing requires special skills. It’s both a craft that can be learned and an intuitive art that involves a way of understanding, conceptualizing and organizing a book.
I’ve been teaching indexing for almost ten years using an approach based in part on research comparing how children and adults conceptualize differently by Emilie Lin and Gregory Murphy. Their findings were that children conceptualize using a thematic approach, while the majority of adults have adopted a classification approach. I use these ideas to help my students adopt the proper mindset allowing them to create the thematic framework required for a successful index.
Three tips for authors
1. An index is essential if you are writing a non-fiction book you want to be useful and long-lasting
2. Don’t try to do it yourself. If you’re self-publishing your book, save the money you would spend buying indexing software, and use it to hire a professional. Most indexers charge about $3.75 per printed page, while others structure payment per entry fees, hourly fees, and flat project fees.
3. Respect the indexer’s art and craft and also check to make sure they haven’t missed anything. If it happens, they should welcome your participation.
Sylvia Coates is one of the many people who work behind the scenes in publishing to ensure that the books produced are polished and professional.
“I love being an indexer,” she said. “It’s allowed me to stay home with my four sons when they were little and have an interesting career, working with authors I respect, producing something that greatly enhances their work.”
January 12th, 2009 at 8:59 am
Bravo! As a professional indexer of over 500 titles, I still run up against these basic questions about indexes, and the need for them. The more people that beat this drum, the better. A book is not complete, and does not service the reader to its fullest if it does not have an index that is coherent, and expertly thought out. As an indexer, it is the audience of the book that is my main concern, which is why I often refer to myself as a reader advocate.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Thank you. This was excellent. I do have one minor correction to make: In the case of scholarly books, especially those published by university presses and other non-profit publishers, the cost of the index is not taken out of royalties. It comes directly out of the author’s pocket. Only the IRS knows exactly why UPs have to treat this differently than commercial publishers.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
YES!!! Great article. I’m sending this to everyone who has ever asked me “But do you actually have to read the WHOLE BOOK in order to index it??”
January 13th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Great article! However, I would question the statement that most indexers charge $3.75 per page. In my experience, rates can vary depending on the discipline, subject matter, and parameters of a given project.
January 13th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Great article! It says it all in concise, understandable form. I intend to use parts of this when explaining myself to prospective clients…hope that is okay.
Thanks again…I feel validated!!!
January 13th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Excellent article. A good index is worth its cost many times over. I offer free e-mail support for a how-to book that I wrote, and by the third edition, I’d figured out that I’d save at least a dozen e-mails a month if I got the book professionally indexed. I believe that index has saved me a lot more than it cost over the subsequent years, and potential book buyers are always reassured to see it. I know that many writers are short of cash, but still– it is worth it.
Janice Campbell
National Association of Independent Writers and Editors
http://www.NAIWE.com
January 13th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
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January 25th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Thank you! In the publishing companies where I’ve worked, we used to say that authors creating their own indexes were rewriting their books in alphabetical order. Here’s a sample entry from one such index: “time immemorial, from.”
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:43 am
I have been a professional indexer for six years and have worked directly with many scholarly authors. Some have tried to do an index themselves, and then thrown up their hands and come to me. Others have recognized right away that they know their own book very well but they haven’t a clue how to do an index. In addition to the enjoyment I have helping authors finalize their books is the fun I have working with editors. I have learned a lot from them about the publishing business and established good ongoing working relationships. So it is great to have an editor trumpeting the work of indexers! Thank you!
March 2nd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I have to disagree with you that an author has to hire a professional to prepare an index. Why isn’t an author capable of generating an index after completing a scholarly manuscript? An scholarly nonfiction index consists of several elements:
(a) Names (places, people, monuments, dynasties…)
(b) Concepts, technical words, definitions, styles, types, technologies…
(c) Understand/combine/spell out the relationships between (a) and (b)
These are basics to start with but certainly enough to cover the contents; take a look at scholarly books to see how their indexes are composed. An author intimately knows his book more than anyone else and there is no reason why he can’t produce an index.
Good Luck
March 5th, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I came across your article just after trying to explain to an aspiring author why her book would benefit from an index. I actually did recently write my own for my own book (Tantric Sex for Busy Couples: How to Deepen Your Passion in Just Ten Minutes a Day) and not only enjoyed the process but found I have a talent for it. I had originally tried to convince the publisher that the book didn’t need one. In the process of creating it, I realized how beneficial it will be both for those who want to locate something they read and prospective readers who want to see what the book really covers. Still, I would recommend a professional indexer unless the author has the kind of research and mining persepctive that lends itself to the task. A well done index has an elegance that can enhance a book. I enjoyed creating that.
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Very Good Article… It helps a lot.. Nice Job…
September 4th, 2009 at 9:05 am
The number one question I receive when I tell people that I am an indexer is, “You are a what?” This is a great resource to give out in response to that question. Many people I speak to think that indexes are created by computers. They don’t even realize that indexes existed before computers.