Indexing

Why Index?

What is a back-of-the-book index, and why should your book have one? A good index will help readers get the most out of your book, proceedings, or report. An index allows your readers to locate specific information quickly and also to discover useful cross-referenced information and additional themes. When you are working with a publisher rather than self-publishing, your index will usually have to be done within 2-3 weeks as publishers work to tight production deadlines. A professional indexer can build a quality index within the very short timeframe allowed in the publishing process.

The Chicago Manual of Style (16^th edition) has the following to say about why an index is beneficial: “A good index gathers all the key terms and subjects (grouping many of the former under the conceptual and thematic umbrella of the latter), sorts them alphabetically, provides cross-references to and from related terms, and includes specific page numbers or other locators. This painstaking intellectual labor serves readers of any book-length text, whether it is published on paper or online. An index, a highly organized, detailed counterpart to a table of contents and other navigational aids, is also insurance—in searchable texts—against fruitless queries and unintended results.”

I produce clear, comprehensive, and user-friendly indexes at competitive rates. I work with an author or their publisher to create an accessible index conveying essential factual information, concepts, themes, and cross-referenced elements.

Indexing Rates

The most common way of charging for indexing is by the indexable page rather than by the hour. An indexable page is any page on which there is information suitable for indexing. Indexable pages usually include the main text, illustrations, figures, tables, and any footnotes/endnotes in which new information beyond simple source acknowledgements is provided. Front matter, such as the table of contents, preface and acknowledgements, is not usually indexed unless the author specifically requests it.

I charge from $3.50 to $6 (plus GST/HST for clients in Canada) per indexable page. The rate per indexable page depends on a number of factors. Academic and technical books involving a higher number of index references per page cost more than books written for a wider readership, which tend to have fewer entries and much shorter indexes. The rate is based on the number of index references per page, the type of material being indexed, the time allowed for indexing, the number of indexes required for the book, and the length, space and formatting requirements imposed by the publisher or designer of the book. For a free estimate, please fill out the contact form or email me at cameron.duder01@gmail.com.

I am a member of the Indexing Society of Canada. 

Indexing Portfolio

Marc Stein, The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History (NYU Press, 2019)

Jack Jedwab and John Kincaid, eds., Identities, Trust, and Cohesion in Federal Systems: Public Perspectives (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019)

Peter Browne, ed., Inside Story: The First Ten Years (Grattan Street Press, 2018)

David M. Dean, ed., A Companion to Public History (Wiley-Blackwell, 2018)

W. Scott Howard and Broc Rossell, eds., Poetics and Praxis ‘After’ Objectivism (University of Iowa Press, 2018)

Ann Travers, The Trans Generation: How Trans Kids (and Their Parents) Are Creating a Gender Revolution (New York University Press, 2018)

Claire Robson, Kelsey Blair, and Jen Marchbank, eds., Basically Queer: An Intergenerational Introduction to LGBTQA2S+ Lives (Peter Lang, 2018)

Laura Edmondson, Performing Trauma in Central Africa: Shadows of Empire (Indiana University Press, 2018)

Angus McLaren, Playboys and Mayfair Men: Crime, Class, Masculinity, and Fascism in 1930s London (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017)

Pamela Moss and Courtney Donovan, eds., Writing Intimacy into Feminist Geography (Routledge, 2017)

Courtney Erin Thomas, If I Lose Mine Honour I Lose Myself: Honour Among the Early Modern English Elite (University of Toronto Press, 2017)

Lynne Marks, Infidels and the Damn Churches: Irreligion and Religion in Settler British Columbia (UBC Press, 2017) (Winner – CLIO Prize for British Columbia, Canadian Historical Association, 2018; Runner-up – Historical Writing Awards, BC Historical Foundation, 2017)

Veronica Strong-Boag, Liberal Hearts and Coronets: The Lives and Times of Ishbel Marjoribanks Gordon and John Campbell Gordon, the Aberdeens (University of Toronto Press, 2015)

Lara Campbell, Michael Dawson, and Catherine Gidney, eds., Worth Fighting For: Canada’s Tradition of War Resistance from 1812 to the War on Terror (Between the Lines, 2015)

Claude Martin, On The Edge: The State and Fate Of the World’s Tropical Rainforests (Greystone Books, 2015)

Ernie Regehr, Disarming Conflict: Why Peace Cannot Be Won on the Battlefield (Between the Lines, 2015)

Ronda Arab, Michelle Dowd, Adam Zucker, eds., Historical Affects and the Early Modern Theater (Routledge, 2015)

Liz Montegary and Melissa Autumn White, eds., Mobile Desires: The Politics and Erotics of Mobility Justice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)

Karen Messing, Pain and Prejudice: What Science Can Learn about Work from the People Who Do It (Between the Lines, 2014) (Shortlisted for the Science in Society General Book Award, 2014)

Janet Groen & Colleen Kawalilak, Pathways of Adult Learning: Professional and Education Narratives (Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2014)

Marnina Gonick & Susanne Gannon, eds., Becoming Girl: Collective Biography and the Production of Girlhood (Women’s Press, 2014) 

Dan Irving & Rupert Raj, eds., Trans Activism in Canada: A Reader (Women’s Press, 2014)

Pamela Moss and Michael Prince, Weary Warriors: Power, Knowledge, and the Invisible Wounds of Soldiers (Berghahn Books, 2014)

Peter Dickinson, Anne Higgins, Paul Matthew St. Pierre, Diana Solomon, and Sean Zwagerman, eds., Women and Comedy: History, Theory, Practice (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2014)

Diana Solomon, Prologues and Epilogues of Restoration Theater: Gender and Comedy, Performance and Print (University of Delaware Press, 2013)

Karin Mizgala and Sheila Walkington, Unstuck: How to Get Out of Your Money Rut And Start Living the Life You Want (Money Coaches Canada, 2012)

Ann Cvetkovich, Depression: A Public Feeling (Duke University Press, 2012) (Finalist, 2013 Lambda Literary Awards, LGBT Studies category)

Claire Robson, Writing for Change: Research as Public Pedagogy and Arts-based Activism (Peter Lang, 2012)

Shannon Stunden Bower, Wet Prairie: People, Land, and Water in Agricultural Manitoba (UBC Press, 2011) (Clio Prize for the Prairies, Canadian Historical Association, 2012; K.D. Srivastava Prize, Joint Winner, 2012; Manitoba Day Award, Association for Manitoba Archives, 2013)

Jennifer V. Evans, Life Among the Ruins: Cityscape and Sexuality in Cold War Berlin (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)

Josie McLellan, Love in the Time of Communism: Intimacy and Sexuality in the GDR (Cambridge University Press, 2011) (Winner of the 2011 Fraenkel Prize in Contemporary History, The Wiener Library)