Indexing Formats

My training at the British Society of Indexers is based on British Standards, however, I am very familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) and have produced indexes using CMS guidelines. Many house styles vary from CMS. Working from a publisher’s specifications or a sample index I can provide you with an index that conforms to your preferences.

Considerations to note:

Indented style indexes, where each sub-entry begins on a new line, are easier to read, but use more space. A “run-in” or “run-on” style index will save space. In this style, subheadings follow one another in the format of a paragraph, with each entry separated by semicolons. However, sub-subheadings, if there are any, may be difficult to interpret in the run-in style.

Alphabetical arrangement of entries may be either letter-by-letter or word-by-word. If your normal house style is letter-by-letter but if you have an index with a large number of names or related phrases involving cross-references, it might be better to consider a word-by-word arrangement. With the indexing software I use, indexes can be sorted either way very simply so both formats can be produced for comparison purposes.

Capitalization rules vary widely. If you don’t have a specific house style, we can discuss what might be most suitable for your index. My preference is to not use initial capitals on entries to avoid confusion with homographs and proper names.