WHY INCLUDE A PROFESSIONAL INDEX?
A professionally produced index allows readers to get maximum value from your book. It will make it easy for
readers to consult your book again and again, helping it to become a book they actually use, not just a one-off read.
Professional indexers don't just list words and names found in the text. We analyse books thoroughly and ensure that every relevant discussion or reference is accessible by readers, including themes and topics that are implicit, underlying, or discussed using different terms throughout the book. We consider the book from the readers' standpoint, thinking about how they will use the book and what language they will use to look up information. We categorise topics in ways that are useful and relevant.
Click here for a brief example to demonstrate the difference between merely listing occurrences, and organising them in a meaningful way:
My case study on search versus index (download here) provides more about what readers miss out on if the index is merely a listing of search hits, or if they are expected to rely on search alone in an electronic text index.
An index also makes your book more attractive to potential readers, as it gives them easy access to the content. This is particularly important for online purchasing, where it may be otherwise very difficult for them to really understand what the book covers.
This is less of an issue for fiction books – buyers can easily make decisions based on recommendations from friends,previous experience with an author, or looking at the brief summary and reviews online.
When purchasing non-fiction books, however, buyers are likely to want to know to a greater degree what the book is actually about. They want to know what topics are covered, and whether they are covered in enough depth. And it is harder to predict what a non-fiction book will be like – there tends to be more variability, and less conformance to
"genre" typology. So there is a higher risk of making an unsatisfactory purchase. At the same time, non-fiction books tend to be more expensive, so it is a bigger gamble.
It is not surprising therefore that readers often look at the index before deciding on the purchase of a book, and access to a good index gives a book an advantage in the online marketplace.
Inclusion of an index is also increasingly seen as a flag of a high quality, well produced book. With the increasing range of quality available, it can be difficult to judge in advance what type of publication one is going to receive. An index is often considered one of the indicators of a "serious" book.
"... admirably produced with plenty of historical photographs, a very detailed bibliography, plentiful footnotes and an abundant index." Hugh Oram, Books Ireland, May 2011.
" The 26 pages of notes and sources, supported by an extensive index, establish the scholarship and validity of this gripping epic." Angus Stewart, Country Life.
"... though it has a bibliography, it has no index. The overall impression, whether correct or not, is more that of a PhD thesis than of a critical monograph." Stephen Prickett, Times Literary Supplement.
"The book bears all the hallmarks of a rushed job - the omission of an index being the giveaway." Liam Fay, Sunday Times.
" The 26 pages of notes and sources, supported by an extensive index, establish the scholarship and validity of this gripping epic." Angus Stewart, Country Life.
"... though it has a bibliography, it has no index. The overall impression, whether correct or not, is more that of a PhD thesis than of a critical monograph." Stephen Prickett, Times Literary Supplement.
"The book bears all the hallmarks of a rushed job - the omission of an index being the giveaway." Liam Fay, Sunday Times.
As well as existing and potential readers, indexes may be considered by
- Teachers or lecturers, in deciding which books to recommend or require
- Librarians, in deciding which books to purchase or recommend.
- Book reviewers, who comment on the indexes and whose evaluation of the book may be influenced by the presence or absence of a good index (and who sometimes rely on the index themselves, as they may not have time to read the book in full).
"... this volume is well written, well edited, and clear throughout. Though it rewards cover-to-cover reading, an excellent index permits its use as a tool of ready-reference." Colin Higgins, CILIP Update, February 2012.
"Here's something original and eccentric and multi-faceted that tells you a good many interesting things about the world - and then, not having an index, maximises your chances of forgetting them." Sam Leith,The Guardian.
"There are moments, among them the cruel discovery that there is no index, to prompt the ungrateful thought that this is the tourists' package." Blair Worden, London Review of Books. - Amateur reviewers sometimes also comment on indexes of books they read.
"Really easy to read and really well indexed. Save yourself a lot of effort... buy this book." (Amazon customer)