Book Indexing Services

What is an index?

An index is a highly organized and methodical arrangement of information (in the form of entries), which is made to guide users to locate topics and their treatment in a document. Indexing is the process of writing an index and an indexer writes the index.

Why should you have an index?

The ultimate value of your book is greatly enhanced by 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 a book.

Why not index automatically?

You can find some automatic indexing tools being sold with a promise to generate an index with a few mouse clicks. But computers cannot write an index. There’s a big difference between an alphabetical list of keywords, which is really a concordance, and a human-created index that organizes and cross-references your theme and message according to topics, individuals, and relationships between topics.

Why hire a professional?

Quality. Professional indexers have the skills and training to produce indexes that will increase the usability of your book for your audience. Indexers are trained to consider all of the ways a reader may access the text and to provide efficient and effective entry points into the text. A useful index will always serve the needs of the reader while reflecting the voice of the author.
Training and experience. Indexing is a skill that gets honed over time. A professional indexer will get the job done well and on schedule.
Suggestions to improve the quality. Indexers often find inconsistencies and mistakes in the text as they index, which helps to improve the quality of the book.
Tools. Indexers use specialized software that allows them to edit and regenerate indexes quickly. Many indexers use macros and plug-ins to help speed up their process.

When to look for an indexer?

Look for an indexer right after you find a copyeditor. Many publishers prefer to write the index on second page proofs, and some do it in parallel with copyediting (embedded in Word manuscript). So hire an indexer in the early stages and schedule based on your tentative date of page proofs or copyediting.

AI and Book Indexing FAQs

Why Book Indexing Services (BIS)?

BIS understands that every book is different and tailors each index to its subject matter, complexity, and intended audience. Our approach is systematic and thorough—from carefully familiarizing ourselves with the text and identifying its key concepts to refining and editing the final index. The result is an accurate, well-structured, and reader-friendly index that reflects the content and character of your book.

Sanjiv possesses a Post Graduate Diploma in Management and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics, and is an experienced indexer with twenty years of expertise in back-of-the-book indexing and database indexing. He has successfully accomplished all four modules of the American Society for Indexing’s training course, further demonstrating his proficiency.

Ritu holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology and has successfully completed the American Society for Indexing’s training course. Over the course of her twenty-year indexing career, she has indexed numerous books on a diverse range of subjects, encompassing humanities, management, soft sciences, and hard-core STM topics.