Julie BroadYour Non-Fiction Sidekick for Writing, Publishing & Marketing a Book That Builds Your Brand and Grows Your Biz

What is a Book Index?

15 May 2023 · 1 min

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Julie Broad (Book Launchers) explains what a book index is and when it's appropriate. She defines an index as a list of key terms, topics, and names with page numbers to help readers locate information, and advises that indexes are generally appropriate for research- or resource-heavy nonfiction (e.g., some financial books, health/wellness texts with body parts or scientific research). She notes that many business, self-help, or memoir books usually don't need an index and that creating one is time-consuming and detail-oriented.

Chapters

At Book Launchers, we work exclusively with nonfiction books. This means we have a decent number of books that are hefty enough to require an index. A book index is a list of key terms, topics and names mentioned in a book, along with the page numbers where they can be found. It's kind of like a map that helps readers navigate through the book to find specific information. It's generally really only appropriate for research or resource heavy books. A typical business, self help or memoir type book wouldn't have an index. Some financial books also can have indexes because they have a lot of financial terms. Health and wellness book that talks about all the body parts or specific scientific research could also benefit from an index. But many nonfiction books don't really need an index and frankly, it's time consuming and a detail oriented task.