How I Index Books
Most of my posts are about the more technical details of indexing; here’s a glimpse into my overall process, and some links for further reading, below.
Indexing Books: The Process
— Getting Started
I always read the book all the way through before even thinking about opening my indexing software, Cindex.
The reason for reading the book all the way through before indexing is twofold: (1) I gain a ‘big picture’ understanding of what the book is about, and an idea of the landscape of topics discussed (2) it gives me an idea of how I will structure the index.
Factors that influence indexing decisions become apparent only after the indexer has become familiar the book as a whole.
— Taking Notes
As I read the book for the first time, I immediately start marking up the PDF; I highlight all names and key concepts, and take notes in the margins with the marker tool. My laptop has a touch screen, which makes this process fairly natural, though sometimes I will print out a chapter or two to work on paper. I also find it easier to understand challenging passages when I work on paper.
If the index is to be embedded, I take notes in one copy of the book and embed the index into an unmarked version.
— Creating the Index
Once I am satisfied with my notetaking and overall comprehension of the book’s metatopic and structure, I start creating entries in Cindex.
Usually, when I begin, I’ll index the introduction and conclusion first. This helps me to make sure I keep the core concepts in mind as I’m going through and indexing the chapters.
As I index the chapters, I find it helpful to capture broader concepts first, then focus in on the finer details. This means I usually go through an entire book, from cover to cover, no fewer than two times. While I index by reviewing the text itself, I rely heavily on my notes and highlighting to identify important topics on each page and how index entries will be worded.
I usually index in chapter order, but not always — it depends on the structure and contents of the book. Multiauthored works are more likely to have a nonlinear structure, so I am more likely to jump around from one chapter to another in those situations.
Sometimes, even as I’ve read the whole book through, I’m still not quite sure how to structure the index. In those cases, I focus on capturing all the pages of the book through broad entries. Then I go back and focus on each section (within a chapter) and work on capturing the local main topics* that the author is trying to convey. This helps me identify the best structure for the index to take, so it makes the most sense to readers and identifies concepts in a logical way that is true to the text.
— Editing the Index
Next to the actual creation of the index, this is the most important step.
Editing will ensure that mistakes like circular cross references, too many locators, incorrect page references, duplicate or misplaced headings, and the like, are not present to confuse or frustrate readers.
Editing has its own process** that involves going through the index multiple times, backwards and forwards, ideally with some time between passes to give tired eyes and brains a break. While I do edit entries as I index, it is important to reserve enough time at the end of the project to devote to thorough editing. I first go through the index, editing in Cindex, before printing it out. Working on paper, I review the entire index, marking all edits and then return to the computer to enter all the changes, then I print again and repeat this process until finished — usually two rounds of making changes and a third printing to do a final review for good measure.
— Embedding the Index
My process (so far) is always basically the same regardless of whether it is a standard back-of-the-book index or an embedded index.
The difference comes at the very end — after creating, editing, and doing the finishing touches: I embed the index using an add-on tool in Adobe InDesign to insert the index I created (in Cindex) into the book itself. The embedding process comes with its own additional workflows that are more technical and are therefore beyond the scope of this post.
Embedded indexes are submitted in the file type that is preferred by the client. In my experience, I have submitted Adobe InDesign files that include the embedded index for the publisher to review and do the final book creation.
— Submitting the Index
Once I have edited the index to my satisfaction, I copy/paste the index into a Word document and double-check to ensure that client style guidelines have been properly followed.
Once all formatting is done, I email the client with the final index!
I like to give clients time to review the index and get back to me with any questions or concerns before I consider the project finished. When I submit the index, if I haven’t done so already, I send a separate email with a list of typos or other inconsistencies I’ve found throughout the text as I indexed.
Once any lingering questions or adjustments have been taken care of, that’s it!
Further Reading
Read more about how other indexers approach a text on the American Society for Indexing website: How I Index
Do Mi Stauber has literally written the book on how to approach book indexing. I have turned to this book so many times throughout my career, and it sits next to my desk for ready reference, right beside my current edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.
* See Do Mi Stauber’s book, “Facing the Text: Content and Structure in Book Indexing”
** Index editing is a topic worthy of its own post. It has been the subject of various webinars and indexer discussions.
