M a r i s o l   P r o d u c t i o n s
Marilyn Joyce Rowland

The Indexing Process

What is an Index?
Definition: An index is a guide to the contents of a book, publication, or multi-media collection. It is prepared for the reader, to help the reader more quickly and easily find information. An index is not simply a list of the major terms in a publication. Rather, it is an organized map of the contents of a book, arranged to make the contents clearly visible and comprehensible to the reader. 

The indexing process includes not only selecting terms to be indexed, but also qualifying these terms with subentries where appropriate; and editing the index after a first draft is produced to improve its cohesiveness, consistency, accuracy, and usefulness to the reader.

What Steps Are Involved in the Book Indexing Process?
All indexers work differently. These steps outlined here are common to most indexers' methods, but indexers approach them differently, depending on their own work style and on the nature of the project. The basic indexing process consists of five basic steps: 
  • Client/indexer contact/negotiation;
  • Previewing the materials to be indexed; 
  • Selecting index entries and determining the appropriate wording of entries and subentries;
  • Preparing and formatting the index; and
  • Consolidating and editing the index.
Client Contact: The indexing process usually begins with the call from the client (often a production editor) to the indexer. The editor offers a job to, or requests a proposal from, the indexer. They discuss the details of the book (subject, length, special requirements) and the terms of the job (fees, turnaround time, special instructions). 

If this is the first contact between the editor and the indexer, the indexer may also be asked to supply a resume, a list of completed indexes, a sample index, or references.

The client may send a sample of the book to the indexer so that the indexer can better determine whether s/he is interested in the job and what fee is appropriate for the work. 

The indexer negotiates a fee for the job. This is usually expressed as a page rate, but could also be a lump sum, an hourly rate, or a fee per index entry.

Once the client and the indexer agree on terms, they sign a contract or letter of agreement specifying fees, date(s) that material will be provided to the indexer, the date the indexer will provide the completed index to the client, and any other considerations, such as length or density of the index, specific terms to be indexed, or file format for the finished index. 

The client may provide a detailed style guide for the index, offer minimal instructions (such as "Capitalize the first letter of every main entry."), or ask that the indexer follow a standard style guide, such as the Chicago Manual of Style.

The client then sends the pages to the indexer, as promised. If, for some reason, the job is canceled by the client, the contract may allow for a kill fee to the indexer.

Previewing the Materials: Once the indexer receives the book pages from the client, she or he looks over them to make sure the material is complete. Often book pages are sent to the indexer in batches. In this case, the indexer keeps a record of which sections of the book have been received, and which are still outstanding, to better plan for the timely completion of the project. 

The indexer's goal in previewing the materials is to gain a general understanding of the nature of the publication, its general organization, the audience it is intended for, and any guidelines or instructions provided by the author or publisher. 

Previewing can take several forms: 

  • A brief overview of materials: reviewing the table of contents and introductory materials.
  • Skimming the entire publication to get a sense of the topics covered and their interrelationships, noting chapter headings and subheadings, and boldfaced and italicized information (especially in textbooks and computer documentation).
  • Carefully reading the entire publication and marking words and concepts to be entered into a computer indexing program.
The indexer's experience, familiarity with the subject matter, and the degree of difficulty of the book will determine which method the indexer uses. Some indexers read the book through completely before beginning to index. Some mark the text extensively. Others simply begin entering terms.

The indexer also reads thoroughly any guidance the author or editor has provided: terms to be included, rules for indexing references and illustrations, index format to be followed, limits on space available for the final product. The client may also have included an index from a previous edition of the book or an index from a book on a similar topic an example of the type of index the client desires.

Deciding What to Index: The indexer seeks to include in the index every significant nugget of information in the book, choosing entries and subentries with an understanding of the way people will look up those terms in the index. The indexer includes most names of people, organizations, and other proper nouns; terms, and concepts, the last being more difficult to identify and to render meaningful for the reader. 

The indexer must: 

  • understand the needs of the audience for the book, 
  • be thorough and consistent, 
  • know when to reword the author's thoughts, and 
  • be able to tie related concepts together.
Keeping reader and author in mind
When choosing entries for the index, the indexer keeps the needs of the imagined reader in mind, and tries to anticipate what the reader may want to look up in the index and how she or he might look for that information. 

She also keeps in mind the needs of the author(s) and publisher. What points are they trying to get across, and how can the index make this information more accessible to the reader? 

Maintaining thoroughness and consistency 
The index includes all pertinent information, using clues from the organization of the book as to what to index. Look at chapter titles, headings, subheadings, words in boldface and italics. Index to the same depth of detail throughout the book. 

Passing mentions of otherwise important topics are not indexed. Imagining herself to be the reader, she asks: "Would I find appropriate information on this page about the topic I am interested in? Or would I feel that not enough information is provided to make it worth my time in turning to this page?"

The indexer is careful to choose appropriate wording and to use the same spelling and punctuation as the author. She keeps track of the number of index entries per book page and seeks to keep this rate consistent throughout the book.

Indexers may keep formal style sheets, or informal notes to themselves to help ensure consistency in usage.

Some indexers edit as they go: printing out your index several times (say, at the end of each chapter), and reviewing choice of terms and phrasing. Editing in this manner may make the final editing job much easier and faster.

Rewording the author's thoughts
The indexer knows when to reword the author's thoughts and when to use the specific terminology used the author. Usually, index entries are created using words found in the text. Sometimes, the indexer will use words not actually found in the text, but which the reader is more apt to look under, or words which combine several concepts. 
Connecting related concepts
The indexer connects related concepts and brings them together in the index. Authors frequently use synonyms to refer to the same or similar concepts, simply to make the book more interesting and less repetitious. This may create a problem for the indexer who is not always certain, particularly with technical subjects, whether the synonym being used is, in fact, a synonym, or whether it is a new concept with a different meaning. In such cases, the indexer may research the topic herself or query the author or editor. 

The indexer will also make use of See and See also references to connect related topics, being careful to avoid circular references: See references that refer the reader only to other See references.

Preparing and Formatting the Index: Most indexers use computers and professional indexing software which does much of the work of putting together and formatting index entries into something that looks like an index. But the indexer must understand the indexing process and rules of alphabetization and sorting. There are always exceptions to the rules that indexing programs may not handle correctly, and it is up to the indexer to recognize and correct the problems. 

Indexers may refer to the Chicago Manual of Style or other style guides or indexing reference books for detailed information on how to arrange terms in an index. Topics may include run-on vs. indented style; word-by-word vs. letter-by-letter alphabetization; when to use sub-subentries; punctuation and style; how to index names of people, particularly non-English language names; and how to deal with prepositions.

The publisher may specify that a specific format should be followed. If the indexer is providing a computer file version of the index to the publisher, formatting requirements may differ.

Consolidating and Editing the Index: Editing the index is a crucial, but often neglected, part of indexing. Editing is not simply checking for typos and misspelling and making sure alphabetical order is correct and page numbers make sense. In fact, if the indexer has been careful to be accurate about spelling (especially names and technical terms), punctuation, capitalization, and page numbers, the time spent checking questionable entries is minimized. 

Editing also involves consolidating similar entries; combining or cross-referencing terms that mean the same or are closely-related (particularly important in a multi-author publication); checking cross-references, and adding See and See also references where necessary; and simplifying and rewording awkward and/or synonymous entries and subentries. The indexer reviews the index carefully, from the reader's point of view, to make sure that the entries and subentries clearly convey the ideas intended, and checks for consistency problems in page number references.

The "look" of the index is also important. To be of optimum use to the reader, an index must be readily readable and skimmable. It is hard to quickly find what you are looking for in a wordy index, one in which the entries have not been properly consolidated, or one in which there are too many or too few subentries. The indexer checks these readability features of the index.

The final step is making whatever formatting changes may be necessary to meet the client's specifications. This may involve putting the index into a specific word processing program format or adding typesetting codes.

Index Submission: Indexers submit their product to the client in one of two basic ways: hard copy and a computer file on disk via an overnight delivery service; or as file only via e-mail or FTP.
For more information, please e-mail Marilyn Rowland.