If you look at the anatomy of a book you will notice that pages are bound together or stitched up. The inside of your book, which we call the book block, is divided into three main sections. But if your chapters are named, as in our upcoming white. Keep in mind that not every single word used in the book should. Next, insert your acknowledgements dedication page, if you want one, then your foreword if any, your introduction, and finally, chapter one.
Whether you are using a hard copy or reading an ebook or pdf, you. Including all of the necessary parts of a book and putting them in the right order is the first step to making your book credible and professional. If you want the index to start on a new page, create a new page in word. The term is also used to refer to the front page, web server directory index, or main web page of a website of a group, company, organization, or individual. While there is no correct page count for an index, you should use your judgment as to. You will be responsible for adding actual page numbers at page proofs because an index generated using word manuscript pages does not meet the. The words listed can be technical terms, places, persons, or multiple words. An index is located in the back of the book and has a alpabetized list of names and items that can be found in the book with page number to find it. If you are looking for specific information in a book, rifling through each page is inconvenient and cumbersome, especially if the book is hundreds of pages long. Examples are an index in the back matter of a book and an index that serves as a library catalog. A book index is an alphabetized list of words and phrases showing the page numbers on which text on the subjects listed can be found.
Dec, 2017 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 table of contents is a list of the parts of a book or document while an index is a list of important words, concepts, and other useful materials in a book or document. In most cases, someone else has written just as good a book on the same topic and had the sense to index it so you can find the information you want without having to read the entire book. Its also considerably easier to create an index consistent in structure and. Many ebooks can also display a page number that reflects the page number in the printed edition of the book. Adding title and overview map pages to your map bookhelp. The index is typically placed at the end of a book. Page numbers are added to the footer with center alignment. It includes pointers to where those keywords or concepts are mentioned in the booktypically page. On the header and footer toolbar, click insert page number. The page setup for creating a book or booklet is now complete. Only those words that have relevance to the book s main themes are chosen for the index. 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. Index a book using word and excel by dustin wax july 3, 2008 i recently published an academic book anthropology at the dawn of the cold war.
Using a book index turn to the very back of the book, where the index lives, and look up the topic you re interested in. You should put the index at the end of your document, which is what the reader expects. Mar 05, 2020 place a period after the last page number in the entry, then type see also in italics, with the word see capitalized. Remember, your objective is to capture people who may think of ideas under different names from the ones you use, so dont be wedded to your own jargon. As a part of the back matter, the index is found in the end pages of a book, and it can be a resourceful tool for readers who may be using the. Examples are an index in the back matter of a book and an index that serves. The pointers are typically page numbers, paragraph numbers or section.
Indexing can be done at the time of manuscript submission using words index function. If the topic comes up more than once in the book, there. While there is no correct page count for an index, you should use your judgment as to what makes sense. Turn to the very back of the book, where the index lives, and look up the topic you re interested in. Do you need to include a table of contents or index. It might list an individuals name, then indicate birth of, education of, marriage of, followed by the corresponding pages.
A table of contents is located at the beginning of the document usually after the title page and notices while an index is located at the end of the document. Difference between table of contents and index difference. This does give you a few more options for page size adding sizes like 5. Book indexing is a vital job that professional book indexers do on a. How do i get page numbers on proper sides of the page. Note that words index features insert an invisible code for each entry you create, and that invisible code generates the entry with the page number in the index. You could use yet another map document to author the title page, or you can use other software to create a pdf document for the title page. But you are, after all, writing the index for your readers, so you want to make sure that your index can be used and understood by others. Use the data driven pages for a single map document single layout to create the map pages for the book, while another map document can be used to create the index map page. The number itself, which may appear in various places on the page, can be referred to as a page number or as a folio. In a nonfiction book, you may also wish to include a table of illustrations or figures. If you know how to use your margins then you are creating a visually appealing page. For example, an entry in an index for a dessert cookbook might contain the following entry. I am wondering what software you use to provide the hyperlinked index for ebooks.
The keys are in alphabetical order, which makes really easy for us to scan the index, find an entry, note the pages, and then flip the book to the correct pages. Jun 01, 2015 for that you need an indexer, a skilled professional who understands how readers will use this customized search section of your book. If you want to focus on selling your print book on sites other than amazon making it easier for bookstores to buy for example, ingramspark and. Use only terms or phrases of importance with page numbers that lead to sections where those terms or phrases are explained and discussed thoroughly. How to create an index for your book in adobe indesign the. If your chapters are named as chapter 1, chapter 2, etc, a table of contents isnt overly useful to readers. Use column d for page numbers in case you have subsubentries, which would be. Then include the name of the similar entry you want to use. Many people look at the index before they buy a book to see if it covers the topics theyre interested in, so you want to get this right. The information we give is specific to the 2016 version of word, but the steps are similar in most versions. Like other numbering schemes such as chapter numbering, page numbers allow the citation of. You can edit the text in the mark index entry dialog box you can add a secondlevel in the subentry box.
By default, kindle create adds the author name to the left page header and the book title to the right page header with center alignment. The purpose of the index is to give the reader an informative, balanced portrait of. December, 2017 3 comments what is an index in a book. An atlas is a type of reference book that contains maps and other geographical information. What is the difference between a table of contents and an index. An index is an alphabetical list of keywords contained in the text of a book or other lengthy writing project.
Atlases are organized with indexes and a table of contents to make it easy for you to find the. You can see from this model that the density of indexable information contained on the pages of the book, as well as the content itself, have a big impact on the time it takes that indexer to work. But the index in the back of the book gets even more specific, telling you exactly which page you should turn to for a given subject. Page numbering is the process of applying a sequence of numbers or letters, or roman numerals to the pages of a book or other document. How to move through a book on your kindle paperwhite dummies. A long index entry often breaks down with terse descriptions the mentions.
The type of index we mean here is the classic backofbook index that shows page numbers on which topics and subtopics occur within the book. While the glossary defines specific words found in a book, the index merely tells you where to find them. Fivestep process for writing a book index the writing. The keys to this index are the subject words we reference. While there is no correct page count for an index, you should use your. How will you format crossreferences and page numbers. All nonfiction books should have a table of contents to guide the reader. Click in the header or footer where you want the page number. To create an index, you mark the index entries by providing the name of the main entry and the crossreference in your document, and then you build the index. If your book 600 pages long, but your index is only 2 pages, the index is probably too sparse to be truly useful. Index definition is a list as of bibliographical information or citations to a body of literature arranged usually in alphabetical order of some specified datum such as author, subject, or keyword. If the topic comes up more than once in the book, there will be more than one page number next to the topics listing. So far writing the index has been a solitary endeavour. Before you start creating your index, take a look at books that are similar to yours in.
Professional book indexer joanne phillips shows its done. An index lists the terms and topics that are discussed in a document, along with the pages that they appear on. When you open the book, the text looks like it is in the center of the page. The sublime joy of making a book index without bullshit. Use the index below to help you answer the questions. Its like you re poking holes in a dark box to let the light in. If you plan to only sell your print book on amazon, you can use either createspace or kdp print. This is especially true of reference books and howto guides. If your book is fiction, it probably ends on the last page. To customize your paperback, click the print settings button in the topright corner of kindle create. Jun 28, 2019 once you ve adjusted the settings, click ok.
As a part of the back matter, the index is found in the end pages of a book, and it can be a resourceful tool for readers who may be using the book in their research, or for readers who just want to read up on a certain subject. Index in a print document index in an onlinehelp system left panel roughdrafting an index. Exceptions to this rule are certain art or architecture books that require a thorough. The index entries consist of the key and page numbers. For nonfiction books, packed with valuable information, a wellmade index can help quickly direct the reader to the information theyre trying to find. The manuscript of my book is in word and i use a mac. What is an index and where is it located in a book answers. This stepbystep guide shows you how to turn a manuscript written in microsoft word into a file ready to be uploaded to kdp. Just scan for the subject youre interested in, note, and flip to those pages in your book.
Indexers need to make some judgment calls when building the index, and. An indexer should ask themselves, which terms will the reader likely use. This information is helpful, for example, if you re in a reading group in which some members use kindles and others use printed copies of the book. Choose the insert index button from the index group on the references tab. An index should be the absolute last thing you do when writing a book.
Some tools are available to help you write your book index, like pdf index generator. An online index is much the same except that you supply hypertext links rather than page numbers. Index a book using word and excel the writers technology. Turn to the very back of the book, where the index lives, and look up the topic youre interested in.
Ive been trying desperately to find a solution to this problem so any direction you can give me is greatly appreciated. Using the index should be a seamless experience for your reader. The only cases in which you may need to use a book without an index are when you use primary sources or older classics written by. You may want to add a header or footer, create a table of contents, or give your book page numbers for easier navigation. Use column d for page numbers in case you have subsubentries. Of course i am looking to see if my general topics are included but i am also looking to see if it is thorough enough to tell me it includes specifics and targeted details. Jan 15, 2020 if you ve already written your book, you can use the resources on the page to create your own book template for your typed manuscript.
For help on an option, click the question mark, and then click the option. If you need a third level, follow the subentry text with a colon. Prepare your ebook and paperback with kindle create. Theres a ton of stuff you can do from here depending on what you require for your book. Subheadings should be used to break down long page ranges. Copyright page example of copyright pages free copyright. Only those words that have relevance to the books main themes are chosen for the index. Pdf index generator is a powerful indexing utility for generating the back of your book index and writing it to your book in 4 easy steps. To create a crossreference to another entry, click crossreference under options, and then type the text for the other entry in the box to format the page numbers that will appear in the index, select the bold check box. The index found in a book is a list of the topics, names and places mentioned in it, together with the page numbers where they can be found. Jan 12, 2009 the index is the first thing i read when i pick up a book. The index page is the url or local file that automatically loads when a web browser starts and when the browsers home button is pressed. This is part of the index in the back of the reference book in the library. The influence of foundations, mccarthyism and the cia, since you asked and one of the tasks i was responsible for was creating an index for my book.
Once you find your topic, the page number next to your topic tells you which page to turn to so you can read about that topic. For an unknown term, you could use the index in the glossary, or, if you. You can create an index entry for an individual word, phrase, or symbol. An index 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 documents. An index is helpful to a reader who needs to find information. Depending on your ebook, some steps may be unnecessary e. Placed at the very end of the book, it acts as a map to the mentions of and references to major topics and people throughout the work, indicating the specific page numbers on which they appear. Sep 09, 2019 when you index a book, you re creating thousands of access points that allow a reader to quickly get to the sections they need.
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