AnDix Indexing - Need for a professional indexer

Do I Need An Indexer?

Who should index a work?

.... Although authors know better than anyone else their subject matter and the audience to whom the work is addressed, not all can look at their work through the eyes of a potential reader. Nor do many authors have the technical skills, let alone the time, necessary to prepare a good index that meets the publisher's deadline. Some authors produce excellent indexes. Others would do better to enlist the aid of a professional indexer.
-- Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition

You've decided you need an index. Should you do this yourself?

That depends.

How much do you know about the profession of indexing?

Have you ever done an index?

Was it fun?

If you answer "No" to any of the above, here are a few things to consider:

A professional indexer is trained in the art of indexing—not the same as writing. A good indexer must always keep the reader in mind while understanding the text.

The indexer is the bridge between the author and the text—a two-way bridge allowing the author's information to pass to the reader and the reader's search for information to be satisfied. Even though you know your book inside and out, the indexer is trained to locate all the important concepts in your work and identify it so that everyone will understand the scope of your work and know where to find pertinent information. Some authors have found that they could have a deeper appreciation of their writing after seeing the index emerge.

A professional indexer has the tools and the understanding to produce a product the publisher needs in the time frame demanded. For many an author, by the time the book needs an index, exhaustion has set in and deadlines are tight. A professional who knows what to do, and how to do it, and can meet those looming deadlines is a life (and sanity) saver. The professional indexer can be an author and publisher’s best friend.