what is an index in a nonfiction book
1 You can write your book quickly once your outline is complete. Also with an outline you can avoid the cursor of death and writers block because youve mapped out what you.
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A good index will ultimately make your book more useful easier to navigate and will ensure that your readers refer back to your book time and time again.
. 4 It does not take a long time to create a good outline. When it comes to nonfiction especially encyclopedic works a key paratext element is an index. If your nonfiction book proclaims to help the reader solve a problem be sure to provide a roadmap for exactly how to do that.
An index is a critical yet often undervalued piece of many nonfiction books especially information-dense books like reference books self-help and advice books textbooks and cookbooks. With more than 15 years in publishing and a background spanning the sciences and technology Sue writes indexes that enhance the text make reviewers happy and sell more copies. For more articles on indexes and indexing see Sues website.
An index turns a nonfiction book into a reference book. Reading 287 pages of book. An index can include terms names events and even your books primary themes.
The index may be the deciding factor when readers are choosing between two similar books. Each leaf has two pages one on the front and one on the back of each leaf. But for most nonfiction books I think the answer is yes an index will add value.
An index is an alphabetized list of subjects and terms used and discussed in the book with their corresponding page numbers and is great to use in nonfiction books. A book consists of leafs. These details illustrate the thesis and elaborate on it to provide the reader everything there is to know or at least everything you know as the author about the topic.
It seems to be a growing trend in self-published books to skip creating an index but its an essential part of a nonfiction book. Indices yes thats the plural of index are alphabetical listings of the major topics and subtopics in the book with page numbers. Perhaps you have faced this dilemma as the author of a nonfiction book.
An index adds a level of authority and professionalism to a book that readers often look for. 3 It prevents writers block. An index is essentially a roadmap to the book listing names places and things in alphabetical order and giving the page numbers associated with each topic.
A well-designed index can help the reader quickly find the information theyre looking for in nonfiction books that contain a lot of valuable information. One of the elements of a book that doesnt get spoken of much is the index. Readers Expect an Index.
Most indexers welcome an authors suggestions and you should have a chance to edit the index after its done so you are not surrendering control by hiring someone else to do the index. I get out a blank spiralbound notebook with at least 26 leafs. The words listed can be technical terms places persons or multiple words.
There are three main reasons for this. For nonfiction books packed with valuable information a well-made index can help quickly direct the reader to the information theyre. What is an index in a nonfiction book is a fantastic method to train our thoughts and improve our intelligence.
You believe that an index will add value to your book and maybe you have even sat down to write an index only to get lost in the details. It serves as a key or map for finding specific topics in lengthier books. Indexes areubiquitous in nonfiction books yet people rarely stop to consider how or who makes this document.
2 You have a high word count which will keep your production high. An index is an alphabetized list of subjects and terms used and discussed in the book with their corresponding page numbers and is great to use in nonfiction books. A manual index has the potential to be much more helpful than an automatically created one.
A book index serves as a roadmap to the book listing the names places and things in alphabetical order with the page numbers of each topic included. Sue Klefstad is also known as Sue the indexer. Write the letter A at the top of the first leaf B at the top of the second leaf etc.
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