The map at the back of the book.

You wrote the book. Now comes the translation — not into another language, but into an index: a map for readers, researchers, reviewers, and future-you. A good index doesn’t just point. It interprets. It reveals connections.

I index scholarly and trade texts, particularly in the engineering, artistic, and athletic disciplines. Subject areas include the following:

  • energy, especially geothermal

  • natural resources

  • engineering

  • earth sciences

  • mathematics and statistics

  • numerical and mathematical modelling

  • fluid dynamics

  • continuum mechanics

  • porous media flow

The current assessment is that using large language model AIs (LLMs) such as ChatGPT to generate indexes does not produce results that come anywhere near meeting standards for excellence in Indexing.

Future developments in AI may bring improvements, but at present the human brain of a professional indexer is still the best tool for analyzing, writing, and editing an index in full awareness of context as per quality standards.

  • community arts

  • fine art

  • textiles

  • fibre art and craft, especially spinning and weaving

  • sports, fitness and recreation, especially rock climbing and olympic lifting

  • personal development

I can create an embedded or back-of-the-book index that meets your readers needs, from those first time readers glancing it over to get an idea of the book’s content, to those using the index daily for detailed research.

 FAQs

  • I will give you a total project cost which is calculated for your unique index. Factors considered include index length, text length and complexity, time frame for completion, and whether the index is embedded or back-of-book.

    Academic rates generally fall between $5 and $11 CAD per 300 words. Trade projects tend to fall in the $3 to $6 CAD range. My fee includes 2 hours of edits to the final submission, anything beyond that will be charged at an hourly rate.

Feel free to get in touch for an estimate or to learn more about the indexing process.