1. bookpro01

    bookpro01 Banned

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    How important is indexing of the book? What should I do about this...

    Discussion in 'Electronic Publishing' started by bookpro01, Feb 17, 2010.

    hi, can someone please help with these simple questions....

    1. Is it essential to have the most amount of index for a 80 page self-improvement ebook or how many pages do you think I should have it for a 80 page ebook?

    2. Can someone tell me from their experience (as a reader if you have ever done this plenty of times or writer), do people really go back to index and check to see what is inside the ebook?

    3. Did you ever first look at the index of the book and then decide to read the whole book or not? Or just turn to pages where the index is pointing to where the topic is?

    many thanks in advance.
     
  2. Anonym

    Anonym New Member

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    i don't notice indexing much personally, but if it were something techinical or didactic like a self-help book i'd expect some kind of index, but 80 pages wouldn't seem to require an elaborate index IMO

    if there is one ill usually look thru it quickly to get a feel for the book, & then scroll to an interesting section. but i don't usually read into a book much unless im committed to it, which takes a lot, so im probably not your ideal audience

    hope that helps..?
     
  3. DvnMrtn

    DvnMrtn Active Member

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    Just index it so it's easy to navigate if need be.
     
  4. Cogito

    Cogito Former Mod, Retired Supporter Contributor

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    1. Look at other, similar books to see what exxtent of an index they have. This is very basic research, and you will get much better results than you will from asking a bunch of strangers on a forum. But keep in mind, e-books are searchable.

    2. The only e-books I ever buy are technical references, and usually for books I also have in hardcopy. For tat kind of book, you'd better believe I check the index first! But then again, I usually have specific indormation I'm looking for. I rarely have any use for self-help books. But if I do buy one in a moment of weakness, I look at the table of contents, not the index.

    3. No. The decision of whether to read from front to back or hump directly to topics is determined by the type of book and why I purchased it, not the index.

    Are you sure this is really the audience you should be asking about this? You'd probably get a better sampling if you stood outside a mall bookstore with a clipboard in hand.
     
  5. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    with a good, clear toc, you shouldn't need an index for such a short book...
     

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