Indexing is the act of making an index for a publication, almost always a nonfiction one. To make an index, an indexer like me reads through every single page of your manuscript and logs entries, terms, and page numbers that will go into the index. Throughout the indexing process I make hundreds of decisions in terms of formatting, inclusion, phrasing, style, and structure in order to produce a final index that is easy to read and guides readers quickly and efficiently to the information-rich parts of your text.

An indexer is a professional who specializes in creating indexes. Think of your publication like a vast country, as an indexer I act like a cartographer, creating a detailed map to guide your readers to specific territory.

I offer two kinds of indexing services. First is my Professional Back-of-the-Book Indexing service, where by reading through the final proofs of your manuscript, I will design, structure, and write an index for your book that is representative of its contents and helps your readers find the information they seek. Second is my Index Review and Edit service where, if you already have an index to your text, I assess it across various criteria and best indexing practices in order to make and suggest edits. You can learn more about my services here.

In Q4 of 2026, I will also begin offering embedded indexing for ebooks and epubs.

Can your nonfiction book be read from start to finish in a single sitting? If not, then you need an index.

An index helps make your book much more useful and practical. When a reader flips to the back of your book, expecting an index, what they're looking for is another way of using your book other than starting from Page 1. An index is a list of hundreds of access points that make your book much easier to use and consult. With a well-written index, your readers save time by being able to consult a list of what is thoughtfully discussed in the book and what isn't. For company handbooks, user manuals, scholarly texts, reference materials, and any book intended to be consulted quickly, efficiently, and on multiple occasions, an index is practically indispensable.

Much of the value of nonfiction books lies not only in the actual information within but also how easy it is to access. By commissioning an index for your book, you make the information in your book easier to find, and you make your book much more valuable.

To index a book, I work with the final typeset page proofs in pdf form. I usually work for 2-3 weeks to create an index for a publication that is between 200-400 pages in length. Once finished, I send the client the initial draft in Word document form. Following a review of the initial draft, I make revisions and changes for the final draft of the index.

Indexing is a process that involves hundreds of interpretative and editorial decisions: when I read a manuscript, I’m not just reading, I’m exercising judgment as to which elements are significant and which are passing mentions, determining conceptual relationships between terms and ideas, deciding how elements in the text will be represented and phrased in the index, and much, much more.

How long the index takes varies from project to project. I always deliver within the limitations of the schedule that we negotiate and agree upon for your index. For publications between 200-400 pages I usually take 2-3 weeks to work on the initial draft and, following your review of initial draft, to make the necessary revisions for the final draft.

My rate depends on the nature of each unique project. When preparing a quote, the most important considerations for me are the final page count, time allotted for preparation of the index, number of columns per page, and density of the material in terms of format, style, and/or topic. Rush jobs entail an increase in my rate as well. Rates also vary depending on which of my services you decide to avail.

Today’s current frontier Large Language Models struggle to make high quality indexes. AI is decent for summarizing and generalizing about a text, but the value of an index is that is highly specific. A good index is a guide to the contents of the specific book it is made for: its specific page numbers, specific terminology, specific topics, and specific structure and argumentation. By commissioning a human indexer like me, you ensure that your book gets an index that is tailor-made to your writing— a bespoke index that follows your specifications, contains no hallucinations, is formatted according to best indexing practices, and isn’t produced by having your writing fed to AI owned by third party tech companies.

I do not use Artificial Intelligence, Large Language Models, or chatbots at any point of my indexing process. When you entrust your manuscript to me, your publication will not come into contact with AI at all. All my indexes are the product of close reading, careful analysis, and a thoughtful consideration of the information retrieval needs of your readers.