Book Indexing Services

A Brief Overview of Indexing

Xcel serves publishers and authors with conventional back-of-the-book indexing in clear, concise, author-pleasing, and reader-friendly formats. Areas of concentration include textbooks, trade, business, legal, medical, history, general interest books, and more. As your corrected proofs become available to us, we begin the work to ensure the timely meeting of your deadlines. While an index can be compiled in first pass proofs, Xcel prefers to wait until at least second pass (although at your direction we can index first pages). Second pass enables the author, the designer, and the proofreader to identify any problems in the text before the index is compiled.

Planning Your Book Index

Typically, a closed index (located in the back of the book) is created once for a single product. The terminology of these indexes uses the preferred vocabulary of the author. While the idea of reusing previous indexes may seem practical, the reality of doing so is quite the opposite. We recommend new editions always receive new indexes, as repagination tends to be overly time-consuming and disadvantageous to your completion date. 

Things to Consider

  • Space allowance: As long as needed or limited to a set number of lines? 
  • Quantity: Single index or multiple separate indexes? 
  • Number of levels: The majority have the ability to index with two levels. 
  • Page numbers: Should subheads be supplied, or are number strings acceptable? 
  • Capitalization: Uppercase or lowercase letters for beginning main entries? 
  • Illustrations and tables: Images, graphs, maps, photos, tables, figures, and boxes. 
  • Page numbers: Abbreviated to save space, or full? 
  • Style: Indentation, run-on, or a combination of both? 
  • Separate symbol index: Typically used by technical publications.

Excellence in Precision and Expediency

Xcel’s number one goal is to produce a quality index that meets all your specifications and needs, including your deadline! Our expert proficiency is proven by:

  • Possessing over 40 years of industry experience, our professional indexers manage every project, including the most critical areas of term selection and final edits.
  • Thorough spellchecking and proofreading.
  • Guaranteeing comprehensive indexes, while remaining reader-friendly. 
  • Efficient meeting of your strict deadlines (without sacrificing attention to detail) to ensure a timely delivery of your final publication.

But Is an Index Really Necessary?

When it comes to indexing, Xcel offers options of the simplest index to the most complex and comprehensive in your field. As a key element of nonfiction and academic publications, authors have long been utilizing indexing for the benefit of casual readers and researchers alike. If you want your publication to stand out in your subject of expertise, an index is a significantly persuasive component. 

So, don’t just create a book – create a book that is surefire to XCEL!