Choosing Index Styles

You have enough concerns when your works are being completed. When it is time to write the index, you can certainly ask your indexer to choose appropriate index styles. However, it is important that you recognize basic style differences so that any preferences that you have, you can request from your indexer.

The top priority for format and style considerations should always be ease-of-use. After all, indexes are created to be used.

Jump to a topic: [ Style Guides || Indexable Material || Multiple Indexes || Heading Styles || Alphabetization || Indented v. Run-on || Subheadings || Cross-reference Placement || Page References File Format || Common Indexer Questions || Reminders ]

Style Guides
Large publishers usually have their own house style guides for indexes. A well- known example comes from the University of Chicago Press: the Chicago Manual of Style. Chapter 17 of this publication is devoted to indexes. Small publishers sometimes use an index they like, as a sample of what they want the finished product to look like. For more information on index styles, see the Chicago Manual of Style. If you want a more in-depth discussion of index styles and indexing techniques, Nancy Mulvany's Indexing Books is an excellent introductory source.

Indexable Material
I can recall when I have searched for facts in certain books' indexes, but because the facts were in footnotes and footnotes were not indexed, I spent hours trying to find it. Some works include important information in their prefaces, notes, tables, and appendices, but others only need the main text indexed.

Multiple Indexes
Historical and voluminous works often have several indexes: one each for subjects, places, and names. It is common to see John Smith in the Name Index referring readers to see also Treaty of Springfield in the Subject Index. For most books one index is sufficient, and users appreciate having to search for their topic in only one index.

Heading Styles
Do you want all levels of all entries capitalized?
Do you want initial caps of all main headings?
Do you want only proper nouns capitalized? Do you want sub-headings capitalized or not?
Would you like headings in boldface?
Be sure to notify your indexer if you have preferences for specific heading styles.

Click here to see samples of heading styles

Alphabetization
There are two basic alphabetization styles: word-by-word and letter-by-letter. They differ in their treatment of spaces, numbers, and symbols.

In letter-by-letter alphabetization, spaces and other characters are ignored during alphabetizing, and words are sorted as if they are run together. (Dictionaries and phone books are sorted letter-by-letter - ever have trouble finding words or names in those?)

Using the word-by-word style spaces are evaluated, so we sort letters up to the end of the first word and then stop. If two or more entries begin with the same word, then the second words are sorted.

Click here to see samples of alphabetization styles

I sort word-by-word unless specifically asked not to. Why? First, it comes naturally to me. Second, most people I've met also feel that word-by-word comes naturally to them. Michael Brackney asked 35 people (non-indexers) to sort a series of words in alphabetical order. Their instructions were "sort these terms in whatever order would be most helpful for you" or "in the order in which you would like to have them in an index". The results? Six-to-one in favor of word-by-word. Yes, 30 of 35 people naturally sorted word-by-word (and were surprised that dictionaries were sorted differently). (That list of words is on my page of samples.)

Granted, the alphabetization style won't make major differences in most texts, but in the places where it does make a difference, people will be thrown off by seeing alphabetization unlike what they're expecting.

When you're thinking about alphabetization, you also need to consider how you want numbers and symbols treated:

• Do you want a section at the beginning of your index for numbers and symbols?
• Would you prefer that numbers are alphabetized as if they're spelled out? Thus, a heading for "410" would be in the F section of the index.
• Would you like symbols to be ignored when they are part of a word? Would a heading for ".sig" be in the S section or the D section (for "dot sig") or in a symbol section?
• Would you like symbols to be spelled out by their names would a heading for "*" be in the A section under "astersisk (*)".

Indented vs. Run-on
There are two main ways of arranging sub-headings on the page: indented and run-on.

In an indented index, each sub-heading has its own line and is indented.

In run-on indexes, sub-headings immediately follow each other by a semicolon and a space.

The indented format makes browsing through the index much easier. Because of this, most indexers use the run-on style only upon request. However, for extremely long indexes, the run-on format can save space.

Click here to see samples of indented and run-on styles

Sub-Headings
Depth of subheadings can be a big issue to some editors. Many publishers ask indexers to limit the index to only two or three levels of headings.

In run-on indexes it is best to only have two levels of headings. The simple way around this is to combine the main heading with its subheading

Click here to see samples of subheading levels

Cross-Reference Placement
Do you prefer to see cross-references at the beginning of an entry or at the end? Do you want them run-in style or indented? Do you want the See capitalized or not? Do you want the cross-references in parentheses? What punctuation do you expect to see before and after the cross-references?

Chicago Manual of Style gives more than one acceptable format for placing and formatting cross-references (sections 17.14 and 17.16). See the samples for illustrations.

Click here to see samples of cross-reference styles

Page References
The big decision about page references is to conflate or not the page numbers (this is also known as elision or compression). When page numbers are conflated, any repeated numbers are dropped.

Chicago Manual of Style gives two accepted forms of conflated page references (sections 8.69, 8.70, and 17.9). See the samples for illustrations.

Click here to see samples of page reference styles

Another consideration for page references is how you want them separated from the entries. Would you like them to appear with a comma between the entry and pages? Or do you prefer colons, dashes, or spaces?

File Format
Indexing software is able to format indexes into virtually any format you'll need: Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, PageMaker, you name it. If the software can't format an index specifically for your software, it can at least put it into typesetting codes that your software can read and convert accurately.

If you just want the file in ASCII format (also known as "text" format), that is possible. However, you will lose formatting codes placed in the index: i.e. you will have to italicize all the cross-references, re-capitalize entries, and perform other formatting tasks throughout the index.

Common Indexer Questions

Who is the audience for this publication? It takes more time to produce highly structured, detailed indexes for experts than it does to create indexes for basic users.
If I find corrections or typos in the text, shall I let you know immediately? Some publishers want corrections sent at the end of the project when the indexer sends the final index.
Whom in your office should I contact if I have questions about the index? The managing editor is usually the contact, but sometimes the author is willing to answer indexers' questions.
How big is the book? Although the number of pages is important, the size of the page, font size, heavy use of photographs, or anything else that makes the words on the page fewer or more than usual is what your indexer needs to know.
Do you have any limitations on the index size? Common limitations include the number of pages reserved for the index, number of lines per page, total number of entries, or number of characters per line. If there are any limitations, let your indexer know. When indexes are edited and reduced before they are published, it is best to have the indexer assist so that the index structure wont be compromised.
Will I receive a portfolio copy of the book? Just as illustrators like to have copies of works with their art, indexers appreciate having final copies of the works they've indexed.
Will credit be given to me as the author of the index? More publishers are giving indexers credit on the copyright page. Other publishers place the indexer's name on the first page of the index.

Reminders

As soon as you realize you need an index, you should contact your indexer. Not only because most indexers charge extra for rush jobs, but also because some indexers' schedules are filled months in advance.

If you find that you have to move or delete sections of text, be sure to contact your indexer immediately.

If you want the index sent through a specific delivery service, be sure to tell the indexer which service and whether you have an account to which she should bill the charges.

Indexes are materials copyrighted to their authors. For copyright ownership to belong to the publisher, both parties must expressly agree in a signed "written instrument" that the work shall be considered a work made for hire (US Copyright Act of 1976, Section 101). Without a signed statement, the author of the index, not the publisher, is the copyright owner.

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