Authors are often responsible for providing an index for their book. Although creating your own index is an option, a professional indexer can add value by bringing expertise around indexing rules, conventions, and the use of specialized software. Professional indexers also bring perspective to create the most effective finding tool possible and anticipate readers' needs.
Price quotes are based on a range of factors including:
the type of book and intended audience
length of book
density of text
presence of images, tables, and graphs and whether these will be indexed
presence of footnotes and endnotes and whether these will be indexed
length restrictions or other specialized requirements for the index
a rush fee may apply in certain circumstances
My preferred method is to quote a project rate. This helps you and I both to budget accordingly for the project. I am also comfortable discussing quotes in a per word or per page manner. Since each project is unique, it is helpful to preview sample pages or a sample chapter in order to quote an accurate rate.
Please contact me to discuss your project and how I can help!
No. An index created by AI runs several risks, including:
the hallucination of information that does not actually exist within the book
the omission of information that is important to capture
an overall lack of coherent index structure
All of these issues are detrimental to readers. An index that loses the trust of readers erodes trust in the book itself. You have worked hard on your book and it deserves a well-constructed index.
Please visit the American Society of Indexers webpage on AI and Indexing to learn more.