Rates & Services

Requesting an Indexing Quote

You can contact me at alan@bowmanindexing.com to discuss creating an index for your book or documentation.

I use professional indexing software such as SKY Index Professional, Cindex, and Index-Manager to create all indexes. I do not use large language model (LLM) generative AI tools for index creation.

Rates

Back-of-the-book indexing: I charge between $5 and $8 (USD) per indexable page. Back-of-the-book indexes generally take around three to four weeks depending on book length and complexity.
Embedded indexing: I charge between $0.035 and $0.040 (USD) per word. Embedded indexes generally take around five weeks, depending on book length and complexity.
For both back-of-the-book and embedded indexing, discounts are available for books on open source apps by self-published or small press authors.

Rates can vary depending on the complexity of the text, length of the project, and the production schedule.

If you want to request a quote, send me the following information:

Sample chapter and table of contents - Please provide a representative chapter from the middle of the text, along with the table of contents (if available).
Length - Estimated word count or total page count of the final layout.
Book topic - What is the subject or focus of the content?
Intended audience - Who is the material for? (e.g., general readers, professionals, students).
Schedule
- When can I receive the final page proofs?
- When do you need the completed index delivered?
Indexing style guide - Include your publisher’s style guide or indexing requirements, if available. If you're self-publishing and don't have a style guide for the index, I'll be glad to work with you to decide on the format.

I’ll review the sample, follow up with any questions, and provide a personalized quote based on content, timeline, and complexity.

You may find this helpful: Working With Freelance Indexers (from the American Society for Indexing)