An index is a critical, yet often undervalued, piece of many nonfiction books, especially informationdense books like reference books, selfhelp and advice books, textbooks, and cookbooks. Nonfiction book formatting for microsoft word lulu blog. Nonfiction books have a title page, verso back of the title page that has publication information, table of contents, chapters or headings that divide the books content into sections topics, time periods, etc. Jun 17, 20 this post is a blogged draft excerpt from the author training manual writers digest books, march 2014. Providing an index gives your nonfiction book a professional edge, and compiling one is as easy as abc once youve mastered the basic rules. I index several pages and time myself to estimate how long i think it will take me per page.
Students will practice using the index in a nonfiction book to search for areas of interest before reading. The sublime joy of making a book index without bullshit. Nov 12, 20 there is more to a nonfiction book than a catchy cover and table of contents much more. You need an index for your nonfiction book all freelance writing. A good index will ultimately make your book more useful, easier to navigate, and will ensure that your readers refer back to your book time and time again.
This curated list covers the gamut of nonfiction, from compelling war stories to key feminist texts, to unbelievable struggles for survival, to tales of life in the culinary trade. Many kids love to read about science and nature as well as real people, places, and events. Following are factors to consider when setting the retail price for your book. Nov 04, 20 interview on nonfiction book indexing with virginia c. This is what an indexer calls page numbers in an index. In the first case, creating your toc offers you a chance to get inspired and. May 07, 20 by bobbi linkemer, from her book how to write a nonfiction book. A nonfiction book without an index is like a town without addresses. She is also a book coach, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 17 books under her own name. Some nonfiction books have illustrations pictures as well as words.
Including all of the necessary parts of a book and putting them in the right order is the first step to making your book credible and professional. Now imagine trying to find information in a book without an index. No matter whether youre publishing an ebook, paperback or hardcover. The index for a typical nonfiction book can look bewildering, with its entries and subentries, each with its own indentation plan. When i use the search tool that comes with an online article or an ebook, im often disappointed.
Nonfiction books without an index are my pet peeve. How to build your own index of notes and ideas when reading. Subheads are also visible on the table of contents as an indented line and page number, organized below the chapter titles in the table. Dec 31, 2017 after two years of careful consideration, robert mccrum has concluded his selection of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. If youre looking for a specific title, you can use the search form above. Jun 01, 2015 the index for a typical nonfiction book can look bewildering, with its entries and subentries, each with its own indentation plan. She says that with nonfiction books, once theyve read the book, readers after may well want just to dip in and retrieve certain facts that they remember coming across, but not necessarily know exactly where.
This makes subheads a great way to help your readers find what they need in your nonfiction book. Apr 05, 2018 having made an index for several different nonfiction print books over the years, i have a set of suggestions for how to create an index. It can cover almost any topic, from wild animals to vikings. Retailers like amazon take 40% to 55% off the cover price of the book, and then you have to deduct your print cost in order to determine your profit. Similiar to our list of 100 fiction books to read in a lifetime, this list of 50 nonfiction books contains recommendations you might actually read if you havent already. If you are publishing a nonfiction book such as a biography, history book, or guidebook without an index, then your book. Imagine trying to find folks in a town without addresses. Jan 15, 2020 a simple, clean design, this free word book template is specifically for the standard 6 x 9 book, which is the most common book size for printed paperbacks.
Its a pretty simple process to create an index in word. Nonfiction minibooks teach reading, writing, math, science, and social studies using informational, procedural, and other nonfiction genres. So i explain that an index is an indispensable tool for almost every nonfiction book. The index found in a book is a list of the topics, names and places mentioned in it, together with the page numbers where they can be found. These are perfect to use as your students research a nonfiction topic and publish an informational all about book. Apart from the obvious distinction that your table of contents appears at the frontmatter section of the book and your. In this article im going to leave aside the editorial concerns of whats included or not included in an index, how the entries are cross referenced, and all similar concerns. How to diy a nonfiction index part one alliance of independent. Explains the authors qualifications to write on this subject. She says that with nonfiction books, once theyve read the book, readers after may well want just to dip in and retrieve certain. Have you ever considered writing a nonfiction book. According to stephanie dagg from the books are cool blog, all nonfiction books need an index.
In traditional print publishing, an index is found in the back of a nonfiction book. An index is located in the back of the book and has a alpabetized list of names and items that can be found in the book with page number to find it. Maria popova says that its an index based not on keywords, but on ideas. Home books 50 essential nonfiction books you ll actually read similiar to our list of 100 fiction books to read in a lifetime, this list of 50 nonfiction books contains recommendations you might actually read if you havent already. Only those words that have relevance to the books main themes are chosen for the index. I often hear questions like these from authors i work with.
Interview on nonfiction book indexing with virginia c. As an author in training, you want to approach your table of contents toc as both a creative and business process. Ive noticed that at the library of congress they have a hard time with the concept of nonfiction and fiction merging, as though it could be any. Sep, 2017 in traditional print publishing, an index is found in the back of a nonfiction book. They also remind me, however, that an index may be best left to a pro with an objective eye to the work. Meet a book informational text, title page and table of. If you write for an academic or technical audience, then a preface is more appropriate than an introduction, or you could include both. Are you a nonfiction author tasked with creating an index for your soontobe published book. The words listed can be technical terms, places, persons, or multiple words. If you are publishing a nonfiction book such as a biography, history book. The table of contents gives the indexer a good overview of the book, as does the preface. A table of contents in your ebook, paperback and hardcover book. Three ways an index adds value to your nonfiction book.
After doing a minilesson on using the index, students will choose a nonfiction book to read on their own and will record a section from the index that looked interesting to them. Writing means thinking of an idea and creating content for it. It seems to be a growing trend in selfpublished books to skip creating an index, but its an essential part of a nonfiction book. Nonfiction content may be presented either objectively or subjectively, and may sometimes take the form of a story. A thorough table of contents may be an acceptable substitute, but. This is something youll want to include in all of your indexes. I value indexes, so ill definitely include one in my book. Find out how you can help your child learn to navigate all the parts of a nonfiction book from the table of contents to the diagrams, captions, glossary, and index. If you write nonfictionespecially the selfhelp varietyyour book should include an introduction, not a preface. How to create an index for your book in adobe indesign. It serves as a key or map for finding specific topics in lengthier books.
Does your book need an introduction, preface, or foreword. How to make an index for a nonfiction print book chrismcmullen. This curated list covers the gamut of nonfiction, from compelling war stories to key feminist texts, to unbelievable struggles for survival, to tales of life in the. This pack also includes posters for 25 different nonfiction text features. To make an index you must ask, for every passage in a book, if i were looking for this, what words would describe what i was looking for. Mar 06, 2020 a bibliography or endnotes section, index, related works, author bios, and more can all be included in your back matter. The following nonfiction books are currently available on the literature page. Placed at the very end of the book, it acts as a map to the mentions of and references to major topics and people throughout the work, indicating the specific page numbers on which they appear. By bobbi linkemer, from her book how to write a nonfiction book.
In print books, the table of contents sits at the front as a map of the. Index definition, in a nonfiction book, monograph, etc. Dont publish a nonfiction book without an index write. An index can include terms, names, events, and even your books primary themes.
Dont publish a nonfiction book without an index write nonfiction. There are two levels of subheadings included in the template file for ease of organization. Since theres no easy way to measure, say, three inches from the top of the page in word, one way to position your chapter headings is to start them at the top of the page and then drop them down by a specific number of lines carriage returns. In a published book, chapters generally begin onethird to halfway down the page. How to make an index having made an index for several different nonfiction print books over the years, i have a set of suggestions for how to create an index.
This list of five faqs, kindly provided by professional indexer amron gravett, who is currently indexing allis guidebook, will help you understand the goal of an index, how to produce an index, and why an index is an essential part of your nonfiction book. Nonfiction is one of the fundamental divisions of narrative specifically, prose writing in contrast to fiction, which offers information. Explains why a person should read the book or the problem the book will. What follows is a list of those parts in order of their appearance and what each one contains if you choose to include it. In what part of a nonfiction book will you most likely find. It is right on time since im finishing up the 2nd edition of my nonfiction book. A nonfiction book is one that tells you facts and information about the world around you. How to choose the words and terms to index in your nonfiction book.
Browse printable nonfiction minibooks for preschoolers, elementary students, and middle schoolers. How to create an index for your book in adobe indesign the. The list is divided into pages and titles are listed alphabetically. An index is an alphabetized list of subjects and terms used and discussed in the book with their corresponding page numbers and is great to use in nonfiction books. Take a quick look back at five centuries of great writing.
Includes stepbysteps for 3 levels of differentiated instruction. Nonfiction books index read online the literature page. A frequent speaker at business events and on the radio, she has been featured in entrepreneur, businessweek, and wired magazine. Examples of nonfiction text features includetable of contents, headings, bold words, captions, photographs, graphs, charts, illustrations, glossary, and index. Fourth grade lesson in nonfiction reading using an index. If its about something that really happened or something that really exists, it is nonfiction. Other considerations for nonfiction book formatting.
How to build your own index of notes and ideas when. But for most nonfiction books, i think the answer is yes, an index will add. Whether your goal is simply to be a published author in a certain niche or you want to publish a book to promote your overall freelance writing business, your book might need an index. Go to the back of the book where there will always be a few blank pages. What follows is a list of those parts in order of their appearance and what each one contains if. All about nonfiction booklet for informative writing. The inside of your book, which we call the book block, is divided into three main sections. Use these writing templates during your writing lesson, at a writing center, or during one of your units. Cant i just get one of those cheap indexing programs and let it scan through the pages looking for keywords.
In what part of a nonfiction book will you most likely. Using the index in a nonfiction book by erin morrison tpt. An index turns a nonfiction book into a reference book. An index is a list of all the little details that make your book worth reading. To download, youll need to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the download button. Heres why at his website, which happens to be an example of a very nicely done professional website.
Nonfiction books present information in engaging and interesting ways. Students examine the title page and table of contents of a nonfiction book about dinosaurs. Wherever you are in the process of writing your book, if the chapters adequately convey your message, everything else you write must attract, inform, clarify, or sell. How to make a really good book index in word tck publishing. Do you need to include a table of contents or index. Professional book indexer joanne phillips shows its done. If you are publishing a nonfiction book such as a biography, history book, or guidebook without an index, then your book lacks one of the most important reference and sales tools available. Nonfiction book oregon school library information system.
Setting the retail price for your book shouldnt be an arbitrary decision. The six parts of a nonfiction book barbara mcnichol. The answer to this really boils down to one basic question. How to set the retail price for your nonfiction book. Between the covers of your nonfiction book bookbaby blog. Nonfiction text features are the features that help a reader to navigate a nonfiction text more easily.
From planning to promotion in 6 simple steps used by permission there are six parts of a nonfiction book. This post is a blogged draft excerpt from the author training manual writers digest books, march 2014. Its simply a case of using the mark index entry button to highlight the words you want to index, and word will automatically find every other instance of the word, and save each instance to the index so the indexing task is really just. A nonfiction piece has many threads of information woven throughout the text that all need to be gathered into index entries so that every chunk of information can be found by anyone who needs it. Nonfiction or nonfiction is content that purports in good faith to represent truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or people. I love to index books, because it requires intense thinking thats like writing in reverse. Suggested reading by book critics and editors at the new york times. The final important component of a nonfiction book is the index. I hesitate to make a long list of formatting dos and donts or other arbitrary best practices for creating a nonfiction book. Professional indexer and successful selfpublished novelist joanne phillips provides an easytofollow guide to compiling an index for a selfpublished nonfiction book. Swbat use an index to find information in a nonfiction text swbat look up 2 topics of interest in their justright book by using an index. In digital publishing, an index may be found on a website or at the beginning or end of an ebook. Sure, you could work your way through the town in an orderly manner and, at the end, have a reasonably good chance of finding the person you want. There is no single formula for calculating the price of a book because there are many considerations.
An index is an optional but highly desirable element for nonfiction works. Dec 09, 2019 there are two levels of subheadings included in the template file for ease of organization. What is an index and where is it located in a book answers. In what part of a nonfiction book will you most likely find the names of the chapters. A bibliography or endnotes section, index, related works, author bios, and more can all be included in your back matter. Nov 07, 2016 stephanie chandler is the founder of the nonfiction authors associationand nonfiction writers conference, and author of several books including the nonfiction book publishing plan and the nonfiction book marketing plan. Jan 12, 2009 producing a books index is one of those little understood, mysterious but essential parts of publishing that happen once the manuscript has been copyedited, checked over by the author, returned to production, and then made into page proofs. Like the glossary, the index usually appears near the end of the book, but instead of definitions, indexes list page numbers. The retail price you set for your book impacts your profit margin. Dec, 2017 an index is an alphabetized list of subjects and terms used and discussed in the book with their corresponding page numbers and is great to use in nonfiction books. Plan your lesson in nonfiction reading and special education with helpful tips from teachers like you. Verso page a verso page is found in the beginning of the book. This curated list covers the gamut of nonfiction, from compelling war stories to key feminist texts, to.