“How long does it take to index a book, anyway?”

This is one of the most common questions I am asked by non-indexers. It is a fair question. What is this alchemy of words and numbers that I do from which an index is created? Do I actually have to read the whole book?

This is also an important question for editors and authors who are looking to hire an indexer. How much time does the production schedule need to allow for indexing? If a rush job is required, how rushed is reasonable?

To answer this question, I often say that I can complete most indexes in fifteen to twenty-five hours. These are hours spent at the computer, actively working on the index. This is true enough, in that I time myself and these are the numbers I get. But it is still a simplistic answer. A better answer is, if I have no other projects on the go, I can complete an index for a 200 page book in three days. Three long days, depending on the book’s content, but still, three days. A week is more comfortable for me, for most books. I currently index, on average, 4-5 books per month.  

Most of my clients, when they send me a project, give me two to four weeks to complete the index (different clients have different schedules). Occasionally I am asked to complete an index in less time, which I might be able to do, but I still prefer at least two weeks. Why is this? Does this not contradict what I wrote above about completing an index in three days? Even three days is a somewhat simplistic answer. There are a number of factors that affect how long it takes to write an index. 

Length and Complexity

Let’s start with the easiest factors. A long book will usually take longer to index than a short book. A more complex book—as in complexity in structure, argument, or subject matter—will also usually take longer to index than a simple book. This is usually the different between a book intended for a general audience and a book intended for a specialist or scholarly audience. If you are an author or editor, think about the audience for your book and how it is written, as well as the page or word count. That should give you an idea for how long it will take to write the index.

Overlapping Projects and Deadlines

Some indexers prefer to work on only one project at a time. I see value in that. It is easier on the mind to not have to switch back and forth between projects. For that reason I try not to work on more than two indexes at a time, though I am currently working on three. When I edit an index, I also tend to double down and not work on anything else until I am done, in order to maintain focus and to keep the big picture of the index in my mind. 

But still, I often do work on more than one index at a time. I also usually have one or more projects waiting on my desktop for me to start. This means what while I may have three weeks to complete an index, I am not actively working on that index everyday for those three weeks. I am sorry if this bursts your conception of how I work. Please know, however, that sometime in those three weeks I will write the best index for you that I can.  

Why do I work like this, with multiple overlapping projects? The main reason is that publishing schedules often change. When I book a project, I mark those dates on my calendar and I try to space projects in a reasonable way. I also believe that my clients are being sincere about the dates they give me. But, dates change. I may learn about changes a few weeks or a month in advance, or it might just be a few days. I have decided that in order to maintain a full schedule, so that a change of dates does not leave a big hole, it is worthwhile to have overlapping projects. Having two or more weeks to complete an index, while technically more time than I usually need, does allow me to work on more than one project at a time, as well as provides a cushion when schedules slip. 

Time to Think

This, in my opinion, is the most important factor when thinking about the time it takes to write an index. If I am indexing a short book that will take, say, eight hours, I could conceivably write the index in one day. But I would never want to do that. Why? Because that kind of compressed work does not give me time to think.

What do I mean by this? Surely I am thinking all throughout the indexing process. There is reading the text and understanding what it means. There is thinking at the micro level, about what main headings and subheadings to use, and how to word them. There is thinking at the macro level, about the index structure. Then there is the final edit, which is a different sort of thinking from reading the book and creating the initial entries. In order to edit with a freshed mind, I prefer to start editing the day after I finish reading the book. So, yes, a lot of thinking goes into the index. 

By time to think, I also mean time away from the index, time that is not captured in those eight hours. These are insights that come to me when I am at the gym, washing the dishes, or driving. Sometimes if I am stuck I will simply go for a walk, hoping that the break and the change in activity will stimulate my thinking. I find that these moments away from the index, when I give my subconscious a chance to hum along while I do something else, are crucial to writing the index. In a way, the index needs time to marinate. The index will be better for spacing the work out over a few days.

Time to Rest

Related to time to think is time to rest. This is both for within a project and between projects. Reading sixty or a hundred pages per day, and created index entries, is a lot of information to process. My mind often feels like mush at the end of the day, and I need to take time to rest so that I can do it again the next day. The same is true between projects, especially as I prefer, as I mentioned, to double down on editing to keep the big picture in my mind. This can make for some long days editing. Depending on how I am feeling, I might take the next day off, or at least work fewer hours, to give my mind a chance to recover.

Rush Jobs

I mentioned rush jobs at the beginning of this post and how they fit in. When a client asks for a rush job, it usually means that I am being asked at the last minute, and the index is due in a week or less. Given that I am already often working on a couple of indexes, I usually turn down rush jobs. If you are lucky, another project has slipped and I have an unexpected hole in my schedule, but that is usually the exception. The other exception is if I really want to work on the project, for whatever reason, or if I am doing it as a favour to the client, at which point I am probably working evenings and the weekend to fit it in.

Figuring out the time it takes to write an index is complicated. Being a freelancer and working with multiple clients means a fluid schedule. There are the deadlines, and then there is how I structure my days and weeks to actually meet those deadlines. If you are an author or editor, hopefully this blog post will give you a better understanding of what you are helping to set in motion when you say, please complete this index in two weeks.  If you are an indexer, what factors are at play for you?