Index of a nonfiction book example

She is also a book coach, ghostwriter, editor, and the author of 17 books under her own name. Nonfiction book chapter outlines a way with words writing. For example, in a book about 20thcentury artists, a section about violet oakley might have index entries for women artists, muralists, and stained. Providing an index gives your nonfiction book a professional edge, and compiling one is as easy as abc once youve mastered the basic rules. Some nonfiction books have illustrations pictures as well as words. Sep, 2017 in traditional print publishing, an index is found in the back of a nonfiction book.

You cant write the index until you have finished the book. This set is designed to help you introduce your young readers to three parts of a nonfiction book. Imagine trying to find folks in a town without addresses. The index is the first thing i read when i pick up a book. An index is an alphabetical list of keywords contained in the text of a book or other lengthy writing project. How to choose the words and terms to index in your nonfiction book. For example, in one of my books of math games, i made index entries for olaf the. How to write a nonfiction book synopsis pen and the pad. 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. Use the slide show slides in a whole group setting by displaying them using a smartboard. It can cover almost any topic, from wild animals to vikings. Heres an example of a good nonfiction query letter. For example, in a literature textbook there may be an index for authors that is separate from the index for titles of poems and short.

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. I love to index books, because it requires intense thinking thats like writing in reverse. Nov 06, 2019 new guide to publishing a book coming soon. If you write for an academic or technical audience, then a preface is more appropriate than. If you are publishing a nonfiction book such as a biography, history book, or guidebook without an index, then your book. Ive created indexes for all of my paperbacks, and am working with a couple of indie authors reach out to me to index their. Most often seen in nonfiction like a biography or an academic text, a bibliography lists the references and sources used in researching or reporting the book. Examples are an index in the back matter of a book and an index that serves as a library catalog in a traditional backofthebook index. 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. If its about something that really happened or something that really exists, it is nonfiction. A nonfiction book is one that tells you facts and information about the world around you.

Jun 07, 2016 as a backofthebook indexer, im totally biased when i say that a nonfiction book without an index is like a town without addresses. Nonfiction is a rich database of abstracts and searchable full text for thousands of popular nonfiction books. Between the covers of your nonfiction book bookbaby blog. An index works well when customers can find what theyre looking for easily. Once youre ready to get started on the actual writing, i recommend you read my article how to write a compelling book in 12 steps a mustread guide for nonfiction authors. Example of a good nonfiction query letter nathan bransford. How to make a really good book index in word tck publishing. An index is an optional but highly desirable element for nonfiction works. The truth is, a synopsis for a nonfiction book is as important as one for fiction. Examples are an index in the back matter of a book and an index that serves as a library catalog. Childrens nonfiction books for sale the scholastic. Backofthebook indexes can have an air of mystery that i would like to. Open the nonfiction text and slowly take a picture walk through the book.

Index definition, in a nonfiction book, monograph, etc. For example, if my chapter title was how to selfpublish your paperback i wouldnt. How to build your own index of notes and ideas when reading. See more ideas about teaching reading, reading workshop and nonfiction. Definitive biography of the controversial american novelist. Oct 18, 20 professional indexer and successful selfpublished novelist joanne phillips provides an easytofollow guide to compiling an index for a selfpublished nonfiction book. It includes pointers to where those keywords or concepts are mentioned in the booktypically page n. Dont publish a nonfiction book without an index write nonfiction. You need an index for your nonfiction book all freelance writing. Nonfiction is one of the fundamental divisions of narrative specifically, prose writing in contrast to fiction, which. For example, if i want to find information in a book relating to the moon, when i type the word moon in the search, it wont show me pages where. Nonfiction texts have distinguishing features, too.

Creative nonfiction is a broad term and encompasses many different forms of writing. Fiction authors are lucky that they only have to create a table of contents, but nonfiction authors also have to create a robust index to help readers navigate their book. For example, my index for the personal mba includes a topic on audience building. But, you can use specific words within these terms to index. Use on its own or as a support for the classifying nonfiction text features lesson plan. There are no chapters or sections within the personal mba that discuss building an audience, but for me, that is a critical component to my business and there were ideas in the book that i was able to adapt into my own usecases.

Dont publish a nonfiction book without an index write. 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. A computer might be able to create an entry under oakleys name, and perhaps identify her as a woman, but would have to be very sophisticated to come up with the other. A nonfiction book without an index is like a town without addresses. We have an expansive inventory of nonfiction novels for kids. In his book homo deus yuval noah harari contends that overcoming the inevitability of death is our next and possibly our last frontier. This resource focuses on the three basic forms of creative nonfiction.

Much of the advice out there about how to write a query letter is oriented toward novels. Oct 06, 2017 open the nonfiction text and slowly take a picture walk through the book. 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. 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. Popular nonfiction books showing 150 of 100,000 the diary of a young girl mass market paperback by. For example, one reader might search for left alignment in the index, while another might search for ragged right, where both readers are actually looking for the same topic. Professional book indexer joanne phillips shows its done. The first couple of books i indexed using pdf indexing software were a real learning curve, but theres nothing like having to repeat the same steps over and over again to help get you comfortable with using new software. To create a toc for nonfiction, which usually has about 1015 chapters, for example, you can. Indexes and indexers in fiction american society for. Point out the different kinds of text features in the book paying special attention to the glossary, index, captions, illustrations, text boxes, etc. The words listed can be technical terms, places, persons, or multiple words. For example, in addition to the usual subject index, perhaps a separate name or place index is called for. The glossary is a list of term definitions used throughout the book that might be unfamiliar to the reader.

How to diy a nonfiction index part one alliance of independent. But since were a long way off from every ereader being able to read this new ebook format and every publisher from creating books using epub3. If you write for an academic or technical audience, then a preface is more appropriate than an introduction, or you could include both. But what should you do if you have a nonfiction project. Sep 02, 2018 els will gain valuable practice learning about text features as they practice close reading and communication skills during a nonfiction picture walk. Sample of a wellcompiled index all images by amron gravett. It is true that most nonfiction readers, librarians, and researchers will browse the index before. Nonfiction writers have the added challenge of presenting historical context, source material, and research methods to help publishers gauge the value of their manuscripts. Readers come to a nonfiction book looking for information. In nonfiction, your job is to prove yourself to your reader in the pages of the introduction. Apr 30, 2012 for a nonfiction book, create a list of chapters, where you give each chapter a catchy title possibly also a subtitle and the page on which the sample chapter can be found later in your proposal. An index enhances the ultimate value of a book the ultimate value of your book is greatly enhanced by the ability of a good index to locate all the places throughout the work that address specific interests and concerns.

If youre planning to write a nonfiction book to support your business, youre about to embark on one of the most rewarding journeys for entrepreneurs, consultants and professionals wellwritten and designed nonfiction books have proven countless times to be a boon for businesses and careers, often providing a high return on a relatively low investment. What are some examples of fiction and nonfiction books. This one doesnt really index the bookrather, it is part of the text, expanding the characters and the humour. Each poster shows an example of the text feature and explains how each text feature helps readers to understand. Nov 04, 20 for example, in a book about 20thcentury artists, a section about violet oakley might have index entries for women artists, muralists, and stained glass artists, among others. How i blog a summary of a nonfiction book to notice and to. The first step is to make a list of all the technical or trade terms that come to mind off the top of your head that you want your reader to. How to choose the words and terms to index in your. Jan 12, 2009 you may read every nonfiction book needs an index. Aug 21, 20 as an example of selectively focusing on content, in my summary of daniel kahnemans thinking, fast and slow, i emphasized the beginning of the book, which covers the overarching metaphor of system 1 and system 2 because i thought it was the most robust, relevant, and memorable theme developed in the book, that actually spanned a. Nov 12, 20 logically, you should write those first.

Nonfiction or nonfiction is any document, or content that purports in good faith to represent truth and accuracy regarding information, events, or people. How to write a nonfiction picture book laura purdie salas. 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. As a backofthebook indexer, im totally biased when i say that a nonfiction book without an index is like a town without addresses. Explain that when we read nonfiction, we use something special called text features to help us learn. Index evaluation checklist american society for indexing. There usually are several indexes in any one nonfiction book. Tables, for example, may contain a wealth of entries, or may be one. After two years of careful consideration, robert mccrum has concluded his selection of the 100 greatest nonfiction books of all time. Anne frank shelved 822 times as nonfiction avg rating 4. Of course i am looking to see if my general topics are included but i am also looking to see if it is thorough enough to tell me it includes specifics and targeted details. The description of the nonfiction book project is clear.

How to make an index for a nonfiction print book chrismcmullen. Create a list of 1015 topics you know you want to cover in the order you want to cover them. Now you have a great plan to create a nonfiction book following the best practices that pros use. Does your book need an introduction, preface, or foreword. Nonfiction content may be presented either objectively or subjectively, and may sometimes take the form of a story. You may also want to organize your book further into sections or parts. Using an index non fiction convnetions marge kobewka. Explain that when we read nonfiction, we use something special called text features to help us learn point out the different kinds of text features in the book paying special attention to the glossary, index, captions, illustrations, text boxes, etc. So i explain that an index is an indispensable tool for almost every nonfiction book. 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.

The sublime joy of making a book index without bullshit. How to build your own index of notes and ideas when. Jan 26, 2019 i created an index for book one in my how to write and selfpublish a book series, and i used that table of contents, headings, and subheadings approach to pick out the key terms i wanted to index, and to use as my custom list to load into pdf index generator. If you write nonfictionespecially the selfhelp varietyyour book should include an introduction, not a preface.

You may wonder, though, thats fine for other nonfiction books, but does my book really need. Browse our extensive childrens nonfiction books on sale for 30% off. 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. Nonfiction text features chart text feature purpose example title identifies the topic of the texttells what the text will be about title page tells a books title, author, illustrator, and publisher table of contents tells the names of chapters and what page the chapters can be found index tells what pages the reader can find certain topics. Heres why at his website, which happens to be an example of a very nicely done professional website. The teaching slides include an example of a table of content. As a reader, when you are able to identify and analyze the key features of a text, you will be able to gain a better understanding of what the. What is an index and where is it located in a book answers. Now imagine trying to find information in a book without an index. Nonfiction text features chart teaching made practical. Three ways an index adds value to your nonfiction book. It serves as a key or map for finding specific topics in lengthier books. Designed for schools and public libraries, it includes titles on careers, health, sports, adventure, technology, life skills and more.

Find out more about the publishing process at penguin random house duration. When i use the search tool that comes with an online article or an ebook, im often disappointed. An index should be 35% of the pages in the typical nonfiction book, perhaps 58% for a history or biography, and more 1520% for reference books. Nonfiction books without an index are my pet peeve. Jun 17, 20 to create a toc for nonfiction, which usually has about 1015 chapters, for example, you can. How to write a book glossary nonfiction authors sometimes ask me, their editor, how to write a book glossary for their nonfiction manuscript. A sample of nonfiction books represented by russell galen. If you are publishing a nonfiction book such as a biography, history book. What goes in the introduction, for example, depends on how the book is organized, as well as several other factors. Author michael schreiber and literary agent mitchell waters were kind enough to agree to share michaels query letter, which landed him representation with mitchell. A short section on the lyric essay is also discussed. An index can include terms, names, events, and even your books primary themes. How to choose the words and terms to index in your nonfiction.

It seems to be a growing trend in selfpublished books to skip creating an index, but its an essential part of a nonfiction book. For example, in a book about 20thcentury artists, a section about violet oakley might have index entries for women artists, muralists, and stained glass artists, among others. 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. For this, youll need to master book indexing software and industry standards or find a freelancer to index your book. In traditional print publishing, an index is found in the back of a nonfiction book. In digital publishing, an index may be found on a website or at the beginning or end of an ebook. If this looks overwhelming at the beginning, remember, you dont have to write the whole book in one sitting, nor should you. The promise of what the book will offer is woven clearly. This product includes 11 posters about nonfiction text features. For example, i would never take on an index for an engineering book. Writing means thinking of an idea and creating content for it. Professional indexer and successful selfpublished novelist joanne phillips provides an easytofollow guide to compiling an index for a selfpublished nonfiction book. Popular nonfiction books meet your next favorite book.