faqs

Why hire a professional indexer?

A professional indexer has the specialized training and experience to identify
significant concepts and relationships within a text and the ability to
organize them into a systematic and useful arrangement.

Professional indexers are familiar with publisher's index style guidelines.

Indexers have specialized software which automates time-consuming tasks
like alphabetizing and formatting.

Indexers also possess the necessary objectivity to anticipate a potential
reader's point of view. While authors are certainly the expert authorities on
their own work, they do not necessarily make the best indexers. Having been
immersed in the text for a long time, an author may lack the perspective to
anticipate the basic, synonymous or even misinformed terms that a reader
might look up. In other words, an author can't always see the forest for the
trees.

What is the purpose of an index?

An index is a reference device for finding specific information
within a document. A quality index can anticipate the
information that a reader may look for and allow them quick
and easy access to that information.

Is an index really necessary?

An expertly prepared index is absolutely vital to the success
of a nonfiction book. A book without an index requires the
reader to depend upon their memory when trying to locate
previously read material, seriously detracting from the
book's usefulness.

In addition, the presence of an index can help potential
buyers compare books prior to purchase and may also
determine whether or not a library, bookstore, or university
will purchase the book.