:: What is an Index?

:: Increase Book Sales
:: Index Quote
:: Home

What Makes a Good Index?

A good index makes the difference between a book and a very good book.

• A good index adds "perceived value" to a book which in turn increases book sales.
  Successful authors recognize that readers prefer to buy books with well written
  and organized indexes, written by professional indexers.
  
  
• A good index is a mark of a serious book: written to generally accepted indexing
  standards: it performs flawlessly. Readers find what they are looking for and
  don't give the index a second thought. If on the other hand, the index is poorly
  written, readers become frustrated and will very likely move on the the next book.
  
  
• A good index anticipates how readers will search for information; The index provides
  immediate access to the important terms, concepts and names scattered throughout
  the book, quickly and efficiently;
  
  
• The index has headings and subheadings that are concise, accurate and unambiguous,
  reflecting the contents and terminology used in the text;
  
  
• The index has enough cross-references to connect related terms; appropriate
  alphabetization and page references format to assist with reading the index; and
  is the right length;
  
  
• The index reveals the interrelationships of topics, concepts and names so that
  readers need not read the whole index to find what they are looking for;
  
  
• The index also provides terminology that may not be used in the text, but which the
  reader will use for searching through the index;
  
  
• Indexes are written for people. Indexes requires human intelligence for their creation.
  A "concordance", produced by automatic indexing software, is of limited usefulness
  and is a far cry from an index written by a professional indexer.