Professional book indexing

Indexes done right, and done fast.

Upload your manuscript, tell us what you need, and get a clean, usable back-of-book index — AI-drafted and refined by a professional indexer. Choose the speed and price that fit your project.

Led by an MLIS indexer with 5,500+ indexes since 1999 · Trusted with unpublished manuscripts

Two decades of indexes for leading publishers
MIT Press Princeton University Press Columbia University Press Cornell University Press SAGE Publications Taylor & Francis Elsevier University of Illinois Press

How it works

Three simple steps from manuscript to finished index.

1

Send us your book

Upload your PDF and a few instructions — style, depth, any must-include terms, and your deadline.

2

We build your index

Choose a fast AI-generated draft or a fully edited professional index, prepared to your specifications.

3

You get it back

Delivered in your preferred format — Word, RTF, or embedded — ready to typeset and publish.

Two ways to work with us

The same careful process — you choose how much human editing your index needs.

AI Draft Index

For authors on a budget and tight deadlines.

from $1.50/page
Turnaround: 24–48 hours
  • Complete, AI-generated index
  • Clearly labeled as an AI draft
  • Light formatting and clean-up
  • Great for technical docs & self-publishing
  • Delivered in your chosen format
Choose AI Draft

Priced by indexable page count; minimum project fees apply. Submit your book and we'll confirm your exact quote before any payment — no surprises.

A seasoned indexer behind every professional index

Clear Indexing is led by Sheila Hill, MLIS — a professional book indexer with more than 5,500 completed indexes since 1999. Over 25 years, Sheila has indexed for many of the world's leading university presses and publishers, across health and medicine, law and political science, history, sociology, business and economics, the arts, psychology, and technical fields.

AI makes the first draft fast; that experience makes it right. Every Professional Index is personally reviewed, corrected, and shaped by Sheila — because a great index comes from understanding a book, not just extracting its words.

5,500+
Indexes completed
Since 1999
25+ years indexing
MLIS
Master of Library & Info. Science
13+
Subject specialties

Your manuscript stays private

  • Unpublished work is handled in strict confidence and never shared.
  • Processed via Anthropic's Claude API, which does not use your content to train AI models.
  • Project files are deleted after delivery, or on request.
  • Every index is produced with AI assistance and, on the Professional tier, human editing.

Selected work

A representative selection from 270+ recent titles, indexed across a wide range of scholarly and trade subjects.

Health & Medicine Nursing Law & Political Science History Sociology & Social Issues Business & Economics Psychology Arts & Media Literature & Linguistics Education Science & Technology Religion & Philosophy Technical Manuals
These Truths (Vols. 1–2)
Jill Lepore
The European Guilds
Princeton University Press
Making Space for the Dead
Cornell University Press
Preparing Dinosaurs
MIT Press
Dictionary Wars
Princeton University Press
Save Venice Inc.
University of Massachusetts Press

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the two options?

The AI Draft is generated automatically and lightly cleaned up — fast and affordable, but not editorially perfected. The Professional Index is that draft fully edited by a human indexer: merged concepts, proper subentries and cross-references, and your style guide applied throughout.

How do you price a project?

By indexable page count. Submit your book through the form and we'll confirm the exact quote before you pay anything, so there are no surprises.

What formats can you deliver?

Word, RTF, plain text, or an embedded index — just tell us what your typesetter or publisher needs.

Is my unpublished manuscript safe?

Yes. Your file is used solely to create your index, handled in strict confidence, processed through a service that does not train on your content, and deleted after delivery.

What kinds of books do you index?

Scholarly and academic titles, nonfiction, technical manuals, cookbooks, memoirs, and more. Tell us your subject area in the form and we'll confirm fit.

Ready for your index?

Send us your manuscript and instructions. We'll reply with a quote and a delivery date — usually within a few hours.

Start your index