“Find one of these books with an alphabetical index, and without any further ceremony, remove it verbatim into your own . . .
. . . at least, such a flourishing train of attendants will give your book a fashionable air, and recommend it for sale.”
— Miguel De Cervantes
What makes a good index
A good index is one that is easy to use and yields the results that the reader needs. In order to anticipate what these needs will be, an indexer must analyze a book through multiple lenses. Insightful use of synonyms, cross-references, and multiple entry points weaves a logical route among terms, and thereby enhances access to the text. I think of an index as a map showing many different routes among the words and concepts in a book.
Why a professional indexer
Authors sometimes wonder why they need to hire a professional indexer. “I’ll just use the indexing feature of my word processor,” is an oft-heard plan. Anyone who’s tried to actually do this knows that it does not work. Instead of creating an index, this method makes a concordance, a list of unanalyzed words. Connections through subheads and cross-references aren’t created. And conceptual information, often not captured through use of specific terms, is lost.
Instead of word searching, indexers actually read your book. As they read, they analyze the content for concepts, terminology, relevance, and importance. Lengthy entries are broken into subheads, turning long lists of page numbers into manageable categories. A good indexer can also judge what not to include, because the information is not new or substantive. Objective analysis of a text for such “indexability” is hard at the best of times, and particularly challenging when the book is your own.
My working style
I work closely with authors, and create indexes that enhance the overall usefulness of the book. As author Pamela Smith (The Body of the Artisan, University of Chicago Press) wrote, “You created an extraordinarily creative and accurate tool, so thank you!” And I am both careful about details and flexible enough to handle the constant changes that occur in the world of publishing.
I index in the social sciences, humanities, life sciences, health, education, medicine, the arts, sports, travel, cookery, gardening, languages, politics and public affairs. I read, speak, and index in French as well as English, and have studied many other languages. Indexing rates are based on the style of the text and the density of indexable material.
Please contact me directly for an estimate for your project.