Back-of-Book Indexing
Pubrica provides back-of-book indexing for academic and scientific books. Our professional indexers work with publishers, authors and editors. They read the full book at proof stage and build subject, author and citation indexes to your house specification, merging the synonyms readers search under, adding cross-references and subheadings, and delivering the index in your format. Software can list every page on which a word appears, but it cannot recognise that three terms name one concept or that a passing mention does not merit an entry.
- Built by reading the book, not by extracting terms, so the index helps readers find information rather than simply listing occurrences
- Concepts rather than words: synonyms merged, substantive discussion indexed and passing references left out
- Effective cross-references: see and see-also references that lead readers from whichever term they look up
- Subheadings where an entry needs them, because a main entry with forty undifferentiated page numbers is of little use to readers
- Prepared to your length and style, following the publisher’s index specification in full
Back-of-book index, read and builtIncluded
Cross-references and subheadingsIncluded
Author and citation indexesIncluded
Embedded indexing to your markupIncluded on request
Typesetting the index pagesHandled by your production vendor
Proofs → read → decided → structured → index
- Built by reading, not by extraction
- Concepts merged across synonyms
- Cross-references both ways
- Subheadings where an entry needs them
- Edited to the specified length
Deliverables
Four Components of Every Index
Each index is built around what readers of the book are likely to look up, which determines what the index includes.
From the indexoxidative stress, 14, 22, 23, 47, 51, 88, 91, 102, 141, 147, 203oxidative stress: mechanisms, 22–23; in ageing, 88–91; measurement, 141–147; see also free radicals; reactive oxygen species. Eleven undifferentiated locators become three useful ones.
From the selectionSoftware cannot make this judgement. It determines whether an index has twelve useful locators or forty, many of which lead readers to irrelevant pages.
From the structureReaders do not know the author’s preferred vocabulary, and cross-references connect their terms to the author’s.
From the briefMost publishers have an index specification, and an index delivered in the wrong style has to be reworked.
The samples shown are illustrative and anonymised. Hover over a sample to replay it.
Compliance and Standards
Indexing Standards and Guidelines
Where the publisher has an index specification, it takes precedence. These standards apply where the specification is silent.
Indexing standards and practice (society guidance and house style)
Covers entry selection, subheading structure, cross-reference conventions, alphabetisation and locator treatment.
House specification (length, style, locators)
Covers index length as a share of the text, indented or run-in style, and how figures, tables and notes are cited.
Embedded indexing (where the index is tagged)
Where an index is embedded in the markup rather than supplied as a list, the tagging must remain accurate after repagination.
Quality management (cert. H3CR9TCU20251212INDQM10N)
Covers how the work is briefed, performed, recorded and released at volume.
Responsible Use of AI
Our Approach to AI Use and Disclosure
AI tools support specific, checkable tasks. Editorial judgement, final wording and sign-off remain with Pubrica subject specialists.
Why We Do Not Publish an AI Accuracy Figure
Accuracy figures for AI tools are usually reported by the companies that sell them.
Pubrica therefore does not quote a self-generated accuracy figure, because it would carry the same conflict of interest. Instead, we tell you which tool was used on your project, at which stage, and what a specialist changed afterwards.
Our Process
How Our Back-of-Book Indexing Process Works
Indexing begins once pagination is stable, because indexing a changing proof means doing the work twice.
Brief and specification
We agree the index type, target length, style, locator conventions and any terms the author requires before reading begins.
Read and mark
We read the whole book and select entries according to whether a passage discusses the concept, not whether it contains the word.
Structure and cross-reference
We group entries, create subheadings where a main entry needs them, and build cross-references in both directions.
Edit to length and deliver
We edit the index to the specified length, mainly by deciding which locators to keep, and deliver it in your format.
Our experts
Your Indexing Team
A named team of subject specialists stays with your project from scoping to delivery. Your project coordinator introduces each team member by name before work begins.
Reviews the scientific content for accuracy and confirms that each conclusion is supported by the evidence. Each expert is matched to your field of research.
Edits for clarity, grammar, structure and consistency while preserving the author voice and scientific meaning.
Checks the finished work independently against the agreed scope and the applicable checklist. Findings are logged and resolved before delivery.
Manages the timeline, keeps you informed at each stage and coordinates the team so that questions are answered and deadlines are met.
Packages
Indexing Service Packages
Pricing depends on page count, conceptual density and index length. A technical monograph and a textbook of the same length require different amounts of work.
Back-of-book index
For academic and scientific books at proof stage
Quoted per projectOn page count and density
Delivery By scope
- ✓Whole book read
- ✓Subject index built to specification
- ✓Subheadings and cross-references
- ✓Edited to target length
- ✓Delivered in your format
We recommend commissioning the index once pagination is stable, because indexing a changing proof means doing the work twice.
Deliverables Request a quoteMultiple indexes
For titles that need subject, author and citation indexes
Quoted per projectOn index count and complexity
Delivery By scope
- ✓Subject index
- ✓Author or name index
- ✓Citation or scripture index where relevant
- ✓Consistent conventions across all of them
- ✓Embedded indexing where your markup requires it
Multiple indexes are based on one reading of the book, so they cost less together than separately.
Deliverables Request a quoteSend a chapter at proof stage and we will index it free of charge to your specification, so you can confirm that our entry selection meets your expectations.
FAQs
Back-of-Book Indexing FAQs
If your question is not listed here, ask an expert. No quote is required.
Software produces a concordance, which lists every page on which a word appears. An index requires judgement about which passages discuss a concept, which synonyms refer to the same concept and what readers are likely to look up.
A concordance resembles an index but fails when readers follow a locator to a page where the word appears but the topic is not discussed.
The index should be commissioned at proof stage, when pagination is stable. Indexing pages that will move means either doing the work twice or re-mapping every locator.
If your workflow uses embedded indexing in the markup, work can start earlier, which is one of the advantages of embedding.
Most publishers specify it as a share of the text, commonly two to five per cent of the page count, and academic titles sit at the higher end.
If you have no specification, we will propose one based on the density of the book, because an index that is too short is as difficult to use as one that is too long.
Yes. With embedded indexing, entries are tagged in the source file so the index regenerates if pagination changes.
Embedded indexing costs more initially but saves considerable work across editions and reprints, so it is worthwhile for any title expected to be reprinted or revised.
Related services
Related Proof-Stage Services
Indexing takes place at proof stage, alongside the other final checks. These related services cover the other stages of book production.
1SAME PRODUCTION STAGEstable proofs
Proof-stage proofreadingReading the typeset proof, not the manuscript. Digital production QAQuality checks before publication.2EARLIER EDITINGbefore proofs
Book editingStructure, argument and line. Development editingStructure and argument before line editing.3BOOK METADATAdiscoverability
Metadata taggingROR, CRediT, MeSH and funder data. Permission and metadataClearance and records.Request a Free Sample Index of One Chapter
We index one chapter to your specification so you can confirm that our entry selection meets your expectations.