Answers to the questions authors ask most

Almost every nonfiction book needs an index — scholarly monographs, trade nonfiction, cookbooks, and more. An index helps readers find what they're looking for, whether it's chocolate frosting in a cookbook or Lincoln's mother in a biography.

Indexing by hand is difficult — in addition to reading for the meaning of the text, you're also juggling alphabetization, sub-categorization, and keeping track of page numbers, often across multiple software windows. SeeAlso is book indexing software that makes it much easier: you select terms right on your page proofs, and SeeAlso organizes your entries for you, with their page numbers attached. It's easier than ever before, and easier than any other indexing software.

Authors and editors of nonfiction books who need to index a book — academic monographs, edited volumes, histories, biographies, and trade nonfiction. It's made especially for first-time indexers, and professional indexers use it too.

Yes! You already know your book better than anyone — which ideas matter, which names recur, what a reader will look for. That's the hardest part of indexing, and it's yours already. SeeAlso handles the mechanical side: finding every instance of a term, collecting page numbers, alphabetizing, and formatting. We designed the tool to bridge the gap between a professional's familiarity with book index organization and an author's expertise and relationship with their readers.

Yes — most SeeAlso users are indexing as non-professionals. SeeAlso was designed around professional indexing methods, so the structure of a good index is built in: main entries, subentries, and cross-references. We strongly recommend you sign up for a free trial and see for yourself. You'll get to test out how to add main entries and subentries to an index in the software and see if it's a good fit for you.

Start a free trial and upload your page proofs as a PDF — that's it. Your project opens ready to index: select a term on the page to create your first entry, then add subentries and cross-references as you go. Everything saves where you left it.

As you work through your own indexing project, you'll develop a rhythm that works for you. SeeAlso's help bot can assist you with any technical issues regarding the tool, and we're constantly adding to our library of tutorials and resources to streamline the indexing process.

No. Fully automatic index generators produce a list of words — and with new AI tools on the market, a lot of those words are made up or incorrectly handled. A useful index needs judgment about what a reader will look for. SeeAlso automates everything around that judgment: once you choose a term, it finds every place it appears, attaches the page numbers, alphabetizes, and formats. You stay in charge of what goes in.

An index is the alphabetical list at the back of a nonfiction book that points readers to the pages where its ideas, people, places, and topics are discussed. A good index groups related ideas under main entries and subentries, and uses cross-references (see and see also) to lead readers between connected topics.

What an index is not:

• A concordance. A concordance lists every place a word appears, whether or not the passage says anything meaningful about it. An index points readers to where a topic is actually discussed — even when the exact word isn't used there.
• Just a list of names. Older indexes were often little more than lists of people, but readers mostly come looking for ideas and subjects. A useful index covers the concepts in your book, not only the names in it.
• A place to make new arguments. An index reflects what's in the text. It doesn't add commentary, new claims, or material the book doesn't contain.

SeeAlso is built to keep you inside those lines: every entry starts from a passage on your proofs, so your index stays tied to what your book actually says.

Start from your final page proofs, since an index points to page numbers. Read through and pick the terms a reader will look for, group them into main entries and subentries, add cross-references, then alphabetize and format the result to your publisher's style.

Most authors and indexers find that the subentries are the most complex part. Watch Dr. Andrew Ascherl explain how to create subentries and cross-references in our tutorial series.

You can keep a running list of key terms and names while you write, but the index itself is built from your final page proofs, because that's when the page numbers are fixed. SeeAlso works from those PDF proofs.

Both are good choices. A professional indexer brings years of practice. Doing it yourself means the person who knows the book best makes every decision, on your own schedule and budget.

Professional indexers will find they can index a book substantially faster using SeeAlso and complete more projects in their working hours. Our professional testers like the integrated PDF reader and keystroke options for even faster indexing. We encourage professional indexers to email us for more information or to discuss professional pricing.

In the English-language market, professional indexers typically charge between $4 and $8 per indexable page, so a 250-page book often costs $1,000–$2,000 to index. That's in line with the Editorial Freelancers Association's 2026 rate survey, which puts book indexing at $5.00–$6.25 per page. SeeAlso is $399 per book.

It depends on the book — a dense scholarly monograph needs a longer, more detailed index than a narrative trade book. Publishers sometimes set page limits for indexes, so check your contract or ask your editor before you start. If you're self-publishing, you can generally expect to produce a 10–20 page index for a 250-page book.

For more guidance, sign up for our email updates, watch our tutorials, and join one of our live Q&A sessions.

Most US scholarly and trade publishers follow the Chicago Manual of Style's indexing guidelines, but every press has its own house style. Ask your editor for the style sheet before you start.

SeeAlso exports your finished index in Chicago Manual of Style format, with other export styles to choose from, as a Word, plain text, or RTF file — so you can send your publisher exactly what they ask for.

No. SeeAlso doesn't impose an order. Select terms, add subentries, write cross-references, and reorganize entries in whatever sequence suits your book. Read the whole thing first or build as you go — either works.

SeeAlso works from PDF page proofs — the kind your publisher sends. You can index directly on the proofs or use our easy-to-read overlay, which keeps the page numbers the same but reduces eye strain.

When you're done, SeeAlso exports your index in Word (.docx), Plain Text (.txt), and Rich Text Format (.rtf). We plan to release embedded indexing (in .tex and .xml) by the end of 2026 — sign up for our newsletter and we'll send you an announcement as soon as it's live.

Yes. Each book is its own project, so you can work on several at once and switch between them — your work on each one stays saved exactly where you left it. Pricing is per book: every book you index is $399, with every feature included. If you're a professional indexer working on many books a year, contact us about professional pricing.

$399 per book. One flat price, every feature, no subscription to cancel.

Yes. The free trial gives you a limited number of headings and subentries on your own proofs, plus in-app help for any "how do I…?" questions — enough to see how easy SeeAlso makes indexing your own book.

There are a few free options, mostly older desktop programs or building the index by hand in Word. Most indexing software, free or paid, was built for full-time professional indexers and takes serious time to learn.

SeeAlso isn't free, but we'd love for you to try it before you decide. Start a free trial, upload your proofs, and see how much easier and faster your index comes together.

Yes. If you'd rather hire a professional than index your book yourself, email us at contact@seealso.io and we'll put you in touch with professional indexers who already use SeeAlso.

Right inside SeeAlso. The in-app help answers your "how do I…?" questions as you work, without leaving your proofs. For a full walkthrough, Andrew Ascherl's video tutorials take you from your first entry to a finished index. And if you need something specific, email us at contact@seealso.io and a real person will get back to you.

Send a message through our contact page. We welcome feedback about any bugs that need our attention or any features you think we should build. We're working away to make SeeAlso even better.

We email the significant updates to everyone with an account. If a release is exciting enough, we'll also announce it in our newsletter.