Every book benefits from a great index—but for an interdisciplinary book, it is absolutely vital.
An interdisciplinary book speaks to many more types of readers than traditional scholarship does. The index is your book’s road map, helping those readers navigate your ideas in ways that speak to their unique intellectual backgrounds.
Our team specializes in these types of indexes because we know that world-changing ideas emerge from the rich intersections of social movements and intellectual traditions.
We also know that citations are political. A great interdisciplinary index signal boosts the work of marginalized scholars and fields, many of which are ignored by traditional academic scholarship.
Help your readers change the world with your book by giving them a great index.
“Thanks to IoF, I have an amazing index that really reflects the book’s interdisciplinary methodology and queerness! Seeing the index helped me to realize what a wide range of issues I was able to address and the contributions I’m making.”
“Worlds apart from the standard book index, IoF’s index was creative, conceptually-oriented, and drew the reader’s attentions to key ideas that animated my manuscript, including those I couldn’t see myself. I especially appreciate their commitment to deadlines, professionalism, transparent pricing, and communication throughout the process.”
“Working with Ideas on Fire was an incredible experience. I have new expectations for copyeditors and indexers now, thanks to their work. I recommend IoF to all the academics and writers I know.”
Book indexing services
Click below to learn which type of indexing is right for you
Standard index
WHAT IT IS: A full back-of-the-book index with entries and cross-references covering names, key concepts/terms, methodologies, and themes that highlight the book’s unique contributions and enable diverse, interdisciplinary audiences to navigate your book
DOCUMENT TYPES: Working from publisher-issued, typeset page proofs (a PDF), we deliver the index as a Microsoft Word document
TURN-AROUND TIME: 21 business days total
- 17 business days after receiving page proofs from you, we send you an index draft for review
- 2 business days later, you send us any requested revisions that you’ve marked on the draft using Track Changes in Microsoft Word
- 2 business days after receiving the requested revisions, we send you the final index and you forward it to your publisher
- This turn-around reflects most scholarly publishers’ standard timeline of a month for book indexing
COST: USD $8.00 per indexable page in the page proofs
- Indexable pages include the introduction, preface, all chapters, epilogue/coda, appendices, figures/tables/maps, and endnotes/footnotes
- Indexable pages do not include the bibliography, author bios, or front matter (table of contents, copyright page, lists of figures, dedication, book series pages)
Rush rate index
WHAT IT IS: A full back-of-the-book index with entries and cross-references covering names, key concepts/terms, methodologies, and themes that highlight the book’s unique contributions and enable diverse, interdisciplinary audiences to navigate your book
DOCUMENT TYPES: Working from publisher-issued, typeset page proofs (a PDF), we deliver the index as a Microsoft Word document
TURN-AROUND TIME: 17 business days total
- 13 business days after receiving page proofs from you, we send you an index draft for review
- 2 business days later, you send us any requested revisions that you’ve marked on the draft using Track Changes in Microsoft Word
- 2 business days after receiving the requested revisions, we send you the final index and you forward it to your publisher
COST: USD $12.00 per indexable page in the page proofs
- Indexable pages include the introduction, preface, all chapters, epilogue/coda, appendices, figures/tables/maps, and endnotes/footnotes
- Indexable pages do not include the bibliography, author bios, or front matter (table of contents, copyright page, lists of figures, dedication, book series pages)
Embedded index
We are not available for embedded indexes at this time.
If you’re not sure whether you need an embedded index, ask your publisher which type of index they require. Embedded indexes are not very common but there are a few publishers that prefer them (Cambridge University Press, for example).
How it works
Send
You send us the typeset page proofs when you receive them from your publisher, along with any format requirements the press has included.
Index
Your indexer dives in, reading through the proofs multiple times and compiling the entry and subentry schema. We run full-book searches for all entries and subentries, judiciously arranging locators to highlight your book’s main contributions. We add cross references to help your readers find what they need and then proofread for formatting and consistency. The index draft is reviewed and edited by our senior indexing team until it meets our high IoF standards.
Review
We send you a draft of your index for review. After you review your index draft, if you want any changes, you mark those on the draft using Track Changes and return it to us. We then incorporate your revision requests and provide yet another round of review to produce the final index.
Return
When the final index is complete, we send it to you along with any relevant instructions for your publisher. You then forward the final index to your publisher for typesetting, confident your readers have everything they need to navigate your awesome book!
Recent indexing projects
“This was my first book, so the very idea of an index was overwhelming. But IoF made the entire experience feel seamless. I have an index that feels true to my book. I’m not sure that anyone except an incisive interdisciplinary scholar could produce that.”
“I specifically sought out IoF because of their interdisciplinary expertise and they came highly recommended. I appreciate the thought, care, and labor that went into my carefully crafted index. I recommend Ideas on Fire to all colleagues and friends who are working on book projects, especially if they are interdisciplinary.”
“I recommend Ideas on Fire to everyone working on critical studies of culture or on social justice. Having someone who was not only excellent at editing tasks but knew the intellectual traditions of my work resulted in a really wonderful experience and a top-notch index.”
Frequently asked indexing questions
How do I know which type of indexing I need?
The best way to figure this out is to ask your publisher.
Your publisher will be able to tell you if you need a regular index written from typeset page proofs or an embedded index written from Microsoft Word pages.
Very few publishers require embedded indexes but it is important to double check.
How far in advance should I hire an indexer?
As soon as you know from your press what the tentative publishing schedule is, you should start researching and contacting indexers.
The Ideas on Fire indexers book client projects 1–4 months in advance, so we recommend you contact us early to get on our client calendar.
Please don’t wait until you have page proofs in hand—by that point, most indexers will be unavailable (even non-IoF indexers).
It’s okay to not have specific dates yet. Saying “My press tells me I should have page proofs around September/October” is fine.
Good indexes take a long time to write and good indexers are booked up far in advance, so this isn’t something you can leave to the last minute.
What kind of books do you index?
We index academic books published by scholarly presses as well as crossover books that are grounded in scholarly knowledge and methodologies but are aimed at wider audiences.
We work on monographs, coauthored books, edited collections, and art books.
We specialize in the interdisciplinary humanities and social sciences, particularly the following fields (click on a field below to see our recent projects in that field):
- Activism
- African studies
- American studies
- Anthropology
- Art and visual culture
- Asian American studies
- Asian studies
- Black studies
- Canadian studies
- Caribbean studies
- Communication studies
- Critical race studies
- Cultural studies
- Dance studies
- Disability studies
- Economics
- Education
- Environmental studies
- Ethnic studies
- Food studies
- Game studies
- Gender studies
- Geography
- Health
- History
- Indigenous studies
- Latin American studies
- Latinx studies
- Legal studies
- Literary studies/comparative literature
- Media and film studies
- Middle East studies
- Music
- Performance and theater studies
- Philosophy and theory
- Politics and political science
- Postcolonial studies
- Psychology
- Queer studies
- Religious studies
- Science and technology studies
- Sexuality studies
- Sociology
- Sound studies
- Transgender studies
- Women’s studies
We do not index books in STEM fields, business, or marketing.
For more examples of our indexing work, see our portfolio page.
Do I need to send my indexer a list of terms I think could go in the index?
No. You don’t need to create a preliminary list of terms, but if you have one already completed and want to share it, feel free to send it along with your page proofs.
We read through every page of your book in great detail, multiple times, and are trained to pull out all the key concepts, names, methodologies, and interventions that your readers will be looking for.
Which indexer will work on my book?
After confirming the indexing schedule with you and signing the contract, we match your book with the Ideas on Fire indexer whose indexing specializations, experience, availability, and expertise best align with your project.
Every index draft receives a thorough review and edit by our senior indexing team before it is sent to you.
You can read more about our indexers on our about us page.
Should I index my own book?
No, and there are two big reasons for this:
1. Although you may be the person who is most familiar with the topics your book covers, you aren’t your reader. By definition, your reader won’t know what you do about your topic—that’s why they bought your book. This means they will not look at your book the way you do. Publishers recommend hiring a professional indexer because we approach your book as readers, knowing which entries readers will be looking for. We craft indexes that reflect their thought-processes. Indexes are for readers, not authors.
2. Indexes must comply with publishing industry standards that most authors don’t know about. Professional indexers understand the industrial standards regarding index structure, run-in versus indented formatting, headings and subheadings, classification schemes, double posting, cross references, function words, reference locators, numbering schemas, multiple alphabetizing formats, the correct use of en dashes, each individual press’s requirements, software, and what gets indexed and what doesn’t. We get training in this stuff so you don’t have to.
Can you proofread my book while you index it?
Yes, although these are separate services and thus charged separately. See our academic editing page for our proofreading process and rate.
How does payment work?
We will send you an invoice with the final index. Payment is due in full 30 days after the invoice is sent.
We accept payment by credit/debit card and bank transfer only. We do not accept paper checks.
If you are using university funds, please confirm with your university before the project begins that they will pay via credit/debit card or bank transfer.
We are a registered vendor with hundreds of colleges and universities. If we are not already registered with your school, we are happy to get registered, which allows your institution to pay us directly so there’s no need for you to wait for reimbursement.
Do you have any additional resources on scholarly publishing?
Tons! Check out our resource library on scholarly publishing.