Wordmaps Indexing Services

There’s No Good Reason to Index Your Own Book!

Before I tell you about my services, I’ll give you at least four good reasons why hiring a professional book indexer is your best option.

Hiring an indexer will cost you less money

Hiring other people to work for you is the smart thing to do. If you plan to use a Schedule C (sole proprietor business) rather than a Schedule F (rents and royalties) for the income you receive from your book, you can deduct the expenses of writing your book.

Here’s the thing about the IRS. They tax everyone for the work they do, but the IRS only give deductions for work done for someone else. So, if you hire an indexer, you can take a tax deduction on Schedule C. But if you do you index yourself, you cannot deduct the cost (in times of hours spent) for your own labor.

Hiring an indexer will save you time

Not only that! Indexers are experienced professionals who learn how to index quickly. Here’s what one of my (very intelligent) clients wrote to me after I finished his index, “All in all, I’d say you did a heckofajob.  You gave me a better index than I could possibly have made, and you did it in under the year-and-a-half it would have taken me.  Thanks again.  Your check is in the mail.”

By the time you get to the index, you really want your book to be done! Every day your book isn’t out there being sold, it is losing you money. And new books that will compete with your are being published every minute by other authors.

Hiring an indexer will let you get you sleep you’ll badly need

Some online sites for writers promise you that a book can be writing in 90, 30 or even 3 days. That’s certainly true for free pdf books intended to promote a product or service. But it’s equally not true for traditional print books, e-books, and audiobooks.

Most of my clients tell me it took them around five years just to write their books. And when they’re done writing they realize they also need to market their book! Wouldn’t you really prefer to take a break and catch up on your sleep?

Hiring an indexer will help you market your book

This is the core message of Wordmaps Indexing services. I create indexes with your need to market your book in mind.

Wordmaps Indexing Services

As a business person, I know about marketing. For years I’ve studied with Robert Middleton, the premier marketing expert for self-employed professionals. I share with clients what I’ve learned from Robert and other marketers as well as use what I know for shaping the indexes I create.

As an indexer accredited by the British Society of Indexers, I’ve learned the rules of indexing. Unless I have a good reason to break them, I follow those rules so that you get a professional looking index that uses the common book index conventions readers will expect to see in your index.

As a librarian for over twenty years, I know how people look for information. I’ve run studies on how students use library catalogs. I’ve written about reference book searches and even evaluated reference books for publishers. I’ll create your index so a reader can find what they’re searching for.

Bottom line:  I balance all three of these goals to provide you with the best index for your book! Every book is different. Every book is special. So is every index.

Call me today for a consultation about your book. 415-462-1844.

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