How is the cost of producing an index determined?

Rates vary depending on a number of factors. Book indexes are usually priced by the average number of entries per indexable page, aka density of the index.

For newsletters, I will estimate the time it takes to index several sample issues and then offer a flat rate per issue for the run of the newsletters.

For databases or other material that you would like to have indexed, I can quote based on the number of entries or my hourly rate. Please contact me to discuss your particular needs.

How do you determine the cost of an index?

Rates start at $4.00 per indexable page for projects with fewer than five entries per page. This will increase with more entries per page, complexity of the material, and rush requirements.

Additional factors that will increase the rate include technical or e-books and the number and kind of indexes (name index, table of cases) required.

What is the usual turnaround time?

Allow an average of four or five weeks for a typical three hundred page book.

Why not use the indexing feature of a word processor?

Literary agents, editors and book project managers will advise against preparing your own index. A professional indexer will provide an objectivity that an author will not have. This objectivity is needed to produce an excellent index. Also, after reading and rereading, an author or editor will definitely miss the last few typographical errors and other small mistakes. I will find these and pass them along gratis.

Automatic indexing existed long before there were computers, and is based on listing all words in the text, throwing out noise words such as a, an, the, in and the like. A famous index of this sort is the concordance to the Bible. This kind of index is highly unsatisfactory for most use and does not take into account synonyms or the intellectual task of grouping concepts.

The more recent indexing tools on word processors are awkward to use, and they take time away from writing, editing, and academic study.

What is the process you use to create an index?

A PDF of a completed manuscript is the source for an index. Reading through the text, I use SKY Indexing Software and create entries, editing, revising, adding cross references. I confer with the author/editor on requirements such as a separate name index, format (indented or run on) and any special features that might be useful. The software converts the index into the required format and then I send that off to the client for review.

Contact me for a free quotation or to discuss how to engage my services.