Three Ways an Index Adds Value to Your Nonfiction Book
A few days ago I wrote about the five-step process for writing a book index. A good index does not come together by chance.
You may wonder, though, “That’s fine for other nonfiction books, but does my book really need an index?”
That is a hard question to answer without knowing your specific book and audience. Maybe you could poll your audience to see what they think. But for most nonfiction books, I think the answer is yes, an index will add value. There are three main reasons for this.
Readers Expect an Index
An index adds a level of authority and professionalism to a book that readers often look for. The index may be the deciding factor when readers are choosing between two similar books. The index also allows the reader to preview the book before reading it, to see if their main concerns and interests are addressed, and the index allows the reader to easily return and find information after they have read the book. Readers know that an index can be extremely helpful for them. When I talk to nonfiction readers, one of the themes I hear over and over again is how much they appreciate a well-written index.
Turn Your Book into a Resource
There are all kinds of nonfiction books, ranging from cookbooks and computer manuals to memoirs and humour. Some of these, like cookbooks and manuals, are clearly intended to teach a certain skill or to convey specific information that the reader will need. These types of books should have an index because the reader is unlikely to read the book from start to finish. I mean, when was the last time you made spaghetti and meatballs and read the entire cookbook to find the one recipe? A thorough table of contents may be an acceptable substitute, but table of contents are usually not detailed enough and are often more difficult to search, not being in alphabetical order. So the index will probably be the first place your reader looks in order to access the information you provide.
Other books, such as memoirs, histories, self-help, and humour, may be less obvious candidates for an index. But memoirs and histories can still contain names which family, friends and other readers may want to look up. Even in a book written in a lighter tone and for pleasure rather than teaching, an index can highlight the key concepts and lessons that you are hoping to impart to your readers. An index will turn the book from a fun read into a resource that your readers can use repeatedly over the years.
Use the Index for Marketing
I alluded to this earlier, and I think it is worth repeating. Since readers often evaluate a book based on its index, then use the index as a marketing tool. Make the index available in Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature. Pre-release the index to your email list to generate interest. A well-written index should provide an overview of what your audience can hope to learn, as well as highlight the usefulness of your book as a resource. So don’t be shy about releasing your index from the back of the book.
Isn’t Search Just as Good as an Index?
You may be thinking, “Alright, so maybe providing ways for my readers to search my book is a good idea. But if I am publishing as an ebook, can’t my readers just use keyword search?”
Yes and no. Using the search function in an ebook does provide some assistance, but I would say it is not as helpful as an index for two main reasons. 1) The search results are not curated and organized for relevance and ease of use, and 2) search will only pick up what is on the page, and it will miss other relevant mentions which use implicit language, pronouns instead of names, and synonymous terms. You have little control over what readers find using search, whereas an index can guide a reader to what you want them to find.
It is also possible to write functional, linked indexes for ebooks. The details of doing so are beyond the scope of this article, but I just want to put it out there that such an index is possible. It is possible to write one index and have it work across all formats.
So if you are looking to make your nonfiction book stand out from its competitors and provide extra value by making the information you provide easy to search, consider adding an index. Your readers will thank you.
Interested in learning more about writing your own index? I am also the author of Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide. Learn more here.
