Consult your contract. Usually, the index is the author's responsibility, but other commitments may prevent you from being able to prepare it. If you should have this problem, we will find a professional indexer for you. Wiley has on file the names of excellent indexers with expertise in various disciplines. If you do require the services of a professional indexer, let your editor know this when you submit your master manuscript and the necessary arrangements will be made. Wiley usually deducts the cost of the index preparation from your future royalties. Consult your editor for confirmation of these financial arrangements.

Should I Use a Computer?

Although some authors still use the index-card system, most now input their entries using a word processing program having indexing features such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Such programs eliminate many of the tedious jobs involved in compiling an index, for example, alphabetizing. They can be great time savers for both the author and the production staff.

Should you prefer to work with index cards, Chapter 17 of The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition (University of Chicago Press) offers excellent instructions.

Preparing the Index Manuscript

Begin the initial stage of indexing as soon as you can. Because of the one-week deadline, it is important that the body of the index be completed before entering the page numbers.

IMPORTANT: If the galley proof stage is omitted and your book is set directly into pages, it would be wise to begin the initial stage of indexing while you are preparing your manuscript.

Here are some guidelines to help assemble an effective index.

On a duplicate set of manuscript pages, select and underline the words and phrases you want to appear in the index. In making your selections, you may find these suggestions helpful:

Ask yourself how your readers will use this index. What topics and statements are pivotal to your subject area?
Index by single nouns or short phrases, not by adjectives. For example, the adjective "absolute" by itself is not a proper entry. "Absolute humidity" is. (You may also want to include "Humidity, absolute" as another entry or as a cross-reference.)
Index by concrete nouns. For example, "Characteristics of algae" is an acceptable topical heading in the text, but readers are not likely to look for information about algae under the abstract noun "characteristics." The proper index entry is "Algae, characteristics of."
In the margin alongside underlined passages, rephrase any selections that are not suitable index entries.

If you can determine which selections should be subentries at this point, distinguish between them by underlining them in different colors, say red for main entries and blue for subentries. If you have two levels for subentries, use another color for sub-subentries.

As you receive each batch of page proofs, add the appropriate page numbers to the index entries.

Final Stages

Once you have added page numbers to all the index entries, you are ready to begin alphabetizing and editing the entries and preparing the index manuscript.

General Rules for Alphabetizing

Alphabetize entries and subentries letter by letter up to the first punctuation mark, ignoring any spaces or hyphens between words:
Disregard prepositions and conjunctions except when they occur in a title or compound noun (as in "signal-to-noise," for example).
When an entry appears in both the singular and the plural form, combine the two, add an "s" in parentheses, and alphabetize in the singular form:
Alphabetize St. as Saint and U.S. as United States.
Arrange single numbers as if they were spelled out alphabetically:
Arrange groups of numbers numerically, positioning them ahead of word entries:

Rules for Alphabetizing Scientific Material

Chemical terms are first alphabetized by compound name, disregarding all prefix symbols, numbers, and letters. Ignore parentheses and brackets surrounding the word parts of the compounds.

If the same compound is presented several times but with different prefixes, these entries should be sorted by arranging the prefixes in the following precedence:

Italic letters
Greek alphabet letters
Small cap letters
Numbers

If the same compound is presented both with and without a prefix, the compound without a prefix comes first. For example:

Aminoanthraquinone, 512

1-Aminoanthraquinone, 514

7-Aminoanthraquinone, 517

In the subsort of like compounds, the prefix has priority, with numbers in the body of the entry the next priority. For example:

2-Methyl-1-1,3-butadiene, 998

3-Methyl-1,2-butadiene, 997

1-Naphthol-3-sulfonic acid, 1153

1-Naphthol-4-sulfonic acid, 1128

2-Naphthol-1-sulfonic acid, 1154

Editing

When the index entries are in alphabetical order, the job of editing begins. This involves eliminating duplicate entries, combining similar entries, and providing cross-references.

If several entries include the same key term, make that term a main entry and adjust the individual entries as subentries. For instance, suppose you have the following entries beginning with "Terra cotta":

Terra cotta anchoring systems, 228

Terra cotta construction, 229

Terra cotta planters, 544

Terra cotta veneer, 321

These entries are to be arranged so that all four subjects become subentries under the main entry "Terra cotta." In the completed index they will appear as follows:

Terra cotta

anchoring systems, 228

construction, 229

planters, 544

veneer, 321

Similarly, suppose you have selected these following entries:

Feudalism, 333-345

Characteristics of feudalism, 334-335

Early feudalism, 335-339

Feudalism and manorialism, 342

Feudalism in Western Europe, 340-342

Medieval feudalism, 339-340

These entries can all be grouped as subentries under the main entry "Feudalism" and be listed like this:

Feudalism, 333-345

characteristics of, 334-335

early, 335-339

and manorialism, 342

medieval, 339-340

in Western Europe, 340-342

IMPORTANT: Main entries followed by a long line of page numbers will force the reader to plow through many pages before finding the needed information. A good rule of thumb is to try to furnish subentries when there are more than five or six page references.

Cross-References

Cross-references, when properly used, can add to the quality of an index. Keep in mind when inserting a cross-reference that it should lead to additional information and not merely to the same subject worded differently.

There are two types of cross-references: "see" and "See also".

A "see" reference is used when there are several main words the reader might look under, for instance, "Clubs, Societies, and Organizations." You may wish to list them under one main heading and refer the reader to it in this way:

Clubs, see Organizations

Societies, see Organizations

A see also reference is used to direct the reader to additional information elsewhere in the index:

Radiation, 498, 505, 666. See also Electromagnetic waves

Always make sure that each cross-reference appears exactly as cited in the main heading.

Cross-Reference Punctuation

For a main entry with no page numbers and no subentries, the cross-reference should be preceded by a comma and "see" (in italics with a lowercase "s"):

Trucks, see Motor Vehicles

For a main entry with no page numbers but with subentries, the cross-reference should be preceded by a comma and "see also" (in italics with a lowercase "s"):

Cars, see also Motor vehicles

custom, 568-571

family, 257, 570

For a main entry with page numbers, the cross-reference should be preceded by a period and "See also" (in italics with a capital "S"):

Behavior rehearsal, 47, 52, 209. See also Role playing

For a subentry with no page numbers and a cross-reference that pertains specifically to that subentry, the cross-reference should be preceded by a comma and "see" (in italics with a lowercase "s"):

Casting

high explosive, see Explosive(s)

of liners, 171-172

For a subentry with page numbers and a cross-reference that pertains specifically to that subentry, the cross-reference should be preceded by a period and "See also" (in italics with a capital "S"):

author's responsibility concerning, 246

date of, 238-241. See also Date of publication

duration of, 345

If two or more cross-references pertain to the same main entry, enter them in alphabetical order and punctuate as shown below:

Manic-depressive illness, 4, 42. See also Bipolar disorder; Mania

If a cross-reference is a subentry under another main entry, refer the reader to the subentry as shown below:

Residences, 234. See also Buildings, private sector

Completing the Index Manuscript

The final index manuscript should be double-spaced in single-column format and presented in the following style:

Main entries and cross-references begin with a capital letter.
Each subentry appears on a single line and should be indented and lowercase unless, of course, it is normally capitalized. The same is true for sub-subentries.
Main entries with no page numbers and followed by subentries have no punctuation:
Page numbers are listed in numerical order and are separated from their entries and each other by commas:
Page numbers in ranges are always written out in full:

Aggression, 380-386

not

Aggression, 380-6 (or 380-86)

Submitting the Index Manuscript

The index manuscript must be submitted within one week after you return the last of the page proof. Time is critical at the indexing stage and a late-arriving index may cause the loss of the scheduled printing date and seriously delay publication.

Index Preparation

Introduction

Who Prepares the Index?