Book Indexing Software

Fiction authors are lucky that they only have to create a table of contents, but nonfiction authors also have to create a robust index to help readers navigate their book. For this, you’ll need to master book indexing software and industry standards or find a freelancer to index your book.

If you use Microsoft Word, there’s a Mark Index option available, but as a Mac user I don’t currently have Word installed on my laptop, so I researched the following:

• Options for affordable book indexing tools and software
• How to create a professionally looking index that adheres to industry standards
• Where to find a reputable book indexer
• The average cost of indexing a book

PC Users: Creating an Index using Word

If you’re using Microsoft Word then you have an indexing tool at your fingertips.

It’s a pretty simple process to create an Index in Word. It’s simply a case of using the Mark Index Entry button to highlight the words you want to index, and Word will automatically find every other instance of the word, and save each instance to the index.

So the indexing task is really just:

• Reading through your finished book draft once.
• Highlighting the key words you want to index.
• Clicking on the Insert Index button to display index.

Here’s the instructions from Microsoft on this feature

If you’re a Mac User or don’t have Word, here are some other book indexing software options available, and a summary of other options I researched that led to dead ends:

1. Microsoft Word – software subscription

• Office 365 Personal is $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year. You can sign up for a monthly or annual subscription, and cancel anytime, so if you have your document ready to index you can sign up for the monthly plan and it’ll cost you $6.99 to index your book. The bonus of this plan is that you get 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage, so if you need a storage plan this one is worth considering, because you also get premium versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
• Actually, if you only have one quick project to do, you can sign up for a one month free trail of Office 365 Personal for free, and then cancel before the month is up.

Josh Bernoff, put together key tips for getting into the indexing mindset in his article The sublime joy of making a book index, which also includes his Recipe for Indexing.

If you’re considering indexing your own book, this article is a must-read.

2. Google Docs – online

• Google Docs has the same look and feel of Word but it doesn’t have the Mark Index Option.

3. Apple Page – software

• I’m a Mac user but I hardly use Apple Pages because I’m not a big fan of it. I did search for a Mark Index option but couldn’t find one. Just one more reason not to like Pages!

4. Adobe InDesign – software subscription

• You can create a simple keyword index or a comprehensive, detailed index in your book, and entails placing index markers for the text your want to index. You can download a free trial version of InDesign, and they have a monthly plan, and annual plan paid monthly, and a prepaid annual plan. The monthly plan is $20.99, but unlike the Word option of a monthly subscription, having a one month subscription to Adobe InDesign isn’t a viable option unless you know how to use the software. It’s got a steep learning curve and isn’t for the feint of heart. But if you already use this software to format your print books, then it’s definitely a good route to go.

This article featured on The Book Designer focuses on the typographic requirements of creating a standard index in Adobe InDesign, and provides an important overview of the various parts of an index, which is useful no matter which indexing software route you take.

If you’re considering indexing your own book, this article will help you get your head around the typographic requirements for formatting a professional looking index. If these get your head spinning, then it may be time to get an experienced freelance indexer to create your index.

These tips from Joel are relevant for any indexing project, whether your use InDesign, or use another formatting tool.

In the past I’ve used Adobe InDesign to format print books, but switched over to iStudio Publisher, which is for Mac only. It’s a more affordable alternative, and has the look and feel of InDesign as well as a lot of the same functionality – unfortunately it doesn’t have an indexing feature.

5. Vellum – software

I use Vellum to format my ebooks, and last year an updated version of the Vellum software was released that allows authors to create a print version of their books. I updated my software for this feature but its basic functionality is more suited for fiction authors than non-fiction. Although you can create an automatically generated Table of Contents in Vellum, there isn’t functionality to create an index.

6. PDF Index Generator – software

PDF Index Generator generates an index using the same approach as Microsoft Word, whereby you have to select the words to index and it compiles them into an index.

You can download a trial version of this indexing software, which will index the first ten pages of any manuscript, and the full version of the software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux – at a one time purchase price of $69.95.

The makers of this software received so many requests from their customers asking if they had professionals who can do the index for them that they ended up creating an indexing service with prices starting at $300, and you can contact them for a quote which is based on the length of your document.

Added Nov 14: I tried out the demo version of PDF Index Generator and liked the software, so ended up purchasing it to create Indexes for my books and indexes for other authors. I’ll write about my experience, any learning curves, and tips for using this software here on the blog. Just click on my pdf-index-generator tag to view all articles.

Professional Book Indexing Software

Two of the most popular book indexing software programs recommended by the U.K. Society of Indexers are:

1. Sky – Software

• SKY Software provides a free demo version of SKY Index Professional 7.0. They have just released an updated version (8.0) of their software but a demo version isn’t available for that one yet. The full version software costs $579.

2. Cindex – Software

• Cindex is currently on v.3 and you can download a full version of their software, but in demo mode it restricts the index file to 100 records. The full version of the standard software costs $549.

The price and complexity of Sky and Cindex indicate they’re aimed at professional indexers. They both have a ton of features to index the most complex of books, and the learning curve for authors of standard non-fiction books would mean it would be more effective to employ an indexer rather than making the monetary and time commitment for either of these. But I wanted to include them here so you have an idea of the type of software a professional indexer may be using.

What does an indexer charge?

If you don’t have book indexing software, or don’t have the passion or inclination to index your own book, you can hire an indexer to do it for you.

To work out a ballpark indexing cost here’s the recommended rates from the U.K.’s Society of Indexers:

As from 1 January 2019, the Society recommends indexing rates of £25.50 an hour, £2.85 a page or £7.70 per thousand words for an index to a straightforward text. It is recommended that these figures be used as a basis for estimating the total cost of an index. It should be noted that experienced indexers working on specialised texts will normally charge more than the rates quoted above, which are applicable to non-specialist texts and less experienced indexers.

Experienced indexers working on specialised texts will normally charge more than these quoted rates, so bear this in mind when you start negotiating with an indexer. If your book’s subject matter requires a detailed understanding of the topic, or you need your index done quickly, these could increase the cost of your project.

Rates depend on several factors:

• Depth of the book topic
• Size of the book
• Number of illustrations
• Project Timeline
• Publication type

List of Indexers offering a discount to self-publishing authors (be sure to let them know you found her on Birds of a Feather Press)

Jen Wears – You will find my rate competitive with other indexers with my level of experience, and ranges from $3-$4 per indexable page. I do offer a discount for self-publishing authors, so be sure to ask me for more information.

Working with an Indexer

To start negotiating with an indexer you’ll need to provide the subject matter and page length of your book. It’s also helpful to provide the audience your book is aimed up, to help the indexer assess the type of content that needs to be indexed.

Society of Indexers

Here’s links to a section of Societies of Indexers where you can find an indexer to help you create your non-fiction index:

• American Society for Indexing – Find an Indexer
• U.K. Society of Indexers – Find an Indexer
• Australia and New Zealand Society of Indexers (ANZSI, formerly AusSI)
• Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC / SCI)

Indexing Training

The Society of Indexers has a short course which is an introduction to indexing techniques, and which is separate from their longer professional training course. Whilst it is particularly aimed at those wanting to find out more about indexing before taking further training it also serves as a very useful introduction to the essentials of indexing for someone wanting to try their hand at it. It’s not free, but only a fraction of the cost of a full training course in indexing. Tutor: Jan Worrall (FSocInd) who is currently the Training Course Coordinator. She has been indexing since 1999 and has been a tutor for the SI training course since 2007. Find out what’s covered in this short course.

If you want to learn more about indexing before investing in a comprehensive indexing course, then you should trying this free online course hosted by Sylvia Coates who has been a freelance indexer since 1989. It provides basic information on writing back-of-the-book indexes and working as a professional indexer.

It’s not intended to be used as a comprehensive indexing course, but is aimed at editors and self-publishing authors to get an overview of the process of indexing and working with indexers.

This course covers:

• Understanding who indexers are and how they work.
• Becoming familiar with index structure, format, and specification options.
• Gaining familiarity with the process of term selection and writing an index.
• Learning what indexers wish editors and authors knew about indexing.

Creating an Index for my Non-Fiction book

I’ll need to create an index for the print versions of my How to Write and Self-Publish a Travel Guide series. There’s four books in this series and I’ve already started to release the ebook versions, so I’m looking at the best route I should take to index my books.

Nobody knows my content or audience better than me, so I believe I’m the best person to create an index of my self-publishing books. But the more I read about the complexity of indexing, the more daunting a task it is.

If I was a PC user I would probably try creating my index in Word, but I’m a Mac user so I have to try a different route.

I format my ebooks in Vellum, and my print books in iStudio Publisher, but neither of those programs allow me to create an Index, so I think my best option is to subscribe to Microsoft Word for a month to give indexing a go, or go in search of a indexer who has experience with self-publishing and book promotion content.

Do you have tips about other book indexing software? Let me know what you’ve used and how well it’s worked.

Why don’t ebooks have indexes?

When you’re creating an ebook you can’t create an index for your reader because the page numbers will change depending on the font size, font style, and line spacing they choose, and of course the screen they’re reading your book on. When searching for content within an ebook, your reader just needs to highlight a word in their ereader to find other instances of it. This electronic negotiation of the content is simple to use, and puts content searches within easy reach of every reader.

Additional Book Indexing Resource Articles

1. What about the Index? by Sue Klefstad
2. So You Need an Index for Your Nonfiction Book by Virginia C. McGuire
3. Can Non-Fiction Authors Create Their Own Indexes? by Maria Sosnowski
4. How to Index A Self-Published Non-Fiction Book: A Beginner’s Guide by Joanne Phillips
5. 5 FAQs about Indexing: Why Indie Authors of Non-fiction Need Indexes And How to Create an Effective Index by Amron Gravett

The Carnival of the Indies Issue #94 Featured Blogger

This article was chosen as a featured article in Joel Friedlander’s The Carnival of the Indies self-publishing article roundup in July 2018, on his Book Designer website.

Click here to view the other articles I’ve written about Indexing.

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