what is an index in a nonfiction book
See below is a list of words or phrases headings and associated pointers locators to where useful material relating to that heading can be found in a document or collection of documentsExamples are an index in the back matter of a book and an index that serves as a library catalog. In a traditional back-of-the-book index.
How To Make An Index For A Nonfiction Print Book Chrismcmullen Print Book Nonfiction Books
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.
. See information about this index in The Indexer volume 16 issue 4 page 246. 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. An index can include terms names events and even your books primary themes.
A nonfiction book is one that tells you facts and information about the world around you. The index itself could be considered fiction. It can cover almost any topic from wild animals to Vikings.
Usually indexes more rarely indices. A book consists of leafs. A good index requires a fresh pair of eyes and an objective viewpoint.
A quality index also directs a reader to related. An index turns a nonfiction book into a reference book. Why hire a professional indexer.
Apart from the obvious distinction that your table of contents appears at the front-matter section of the book and your index appears at the end these two content lists have different purposes. An index adds a level of authority and professionalism to a book that readers often look for. Write the letter A at the top of the first leaf B at the top of the second leaf etc.
I get out a blank spiralbound notebook with at least 26 leafs. Providing an index gives your non-fiction book a professional edge and compiling one is as easy as ABC once youve mastered the basic rules. Book indexing is a vital job that professional book indexers.
Simply flick to the back of the book and check the index for the page number. In the age of smartphones and ebooks a book index might seem like a relic of the past. A non-fiction book without an index always strikes me as slightly odd.
For more articles on indexes and indexing see Sues website. Indexes and Indexers in Fiction. 7 Steps for Creating an Index.
See information about this index in The Indexer volume 17 issue 4 page 250. If its about something that really happened or something that really exists it is nonfiction. 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.
An index is a list of all the names subjects and ideas in a piece of written work designed to help readers quickly find where they are discussed in the text. Sue Klefstad is also known as Sue the indexer. Such books routinely top the New York Times bestseller list and are consumed by everyone from academics to hobbyists to professionals.
What is an index in a nonfiction book is a fantastic method to train our thoughts and improve our intelligence. This step may seem obvious but I think it is worth repeating that while it is possible to automate the formatting of an index and to even have software pull out keywords a human being still needs to select the index entries that will be relevant to the reader. That being said many researchers and readers still rely on book indexes to assist them in navigating large books and aid them in research.
In addition to back-of-the-book indexes found in non-fiction books and technical reports indexes are. An index shows that you both take your book seriously and understand that a professional book requires a good index. 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.
Definition Examples and 9 Essential Nonfiction Genres. A manual index has the potential to be much more helpful than an automatically created one. Each leaf has two pages one on the front and one on the back of each leaf.
The index may be the deciding factor when readers are choosing between two similar books. This raises the distinction between an index and a concordance. Readers Expect an Index.
Reading 287 pages of book. There are three main reasons for this. Your table of contents will contain your chapter heading titles and whatever subheadings you decide to choose whereas your index will include.
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. Some nonfiction books have illustrations pictures as well as words. For nonfiction books packed with valuable information a well-made index can.
Theres no law against it but providing your readers with a map to help them discover or revisit important parts of your text. It serves as a key or map for finding specific topics in lengthier books. An Index in Your Paperback.
Writing Learn About Nonfiction. How to Write a Book Index. Bradbury Malcolm My strange.
But for most nonfiction books I think the answer is yes an index will add value. The purpose of the index is to give the reader an easy way to reference specific chunks of text or information and can also be a useful way to quickly find images or tables included in the book. If you really want to take your non-fiction book to the next level you need to hand it over to a professional indexer.
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. In fact some books may have an entirely separate index for images maps or other aspects of the text in order to make this experience easier. Nonfiction books without an index are my pet peeve.
The majority of books that are sold and read throughout America are nonfiction books. The words listed can be technical terms places persons or multiple words. Balzac Honoré de La comédie humaine.
One of the elements of a book that doesnt get spoken of much is the index.
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