Emily LeGrand – Editor

Hi there! I'm Emily, a professional book indexer, librarian and educator. This means I can help you with your non-fiction book's index in two ways. First, I can write it for you. With my voracious appetite for learning, reading and understanding, my natural attention to detail, and ability to see the common themes and patterns in any book, I have a knack for creating comprehensive and detailed indexes that anticipate readers' needs and reveal the interrelated themes in your book via the structure of the index. I trained my ability to read quickly and critically across a range of subject areas through my rigorous undergraduate liberal arts education at Carleton College, where I majored in Biology and minored in Environmental Studies. I also hold a Masters of Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University, where I learned how to hold the needs of readers and information users in mind as I design information tools, such as an index.

Or, if you are budget-limited, and have more energy and curiosity left in your tank (somehow! wow!) I can teach/coach you to write your own index. The main indexing software, which I use, is now open source, which means you can download it for free! And that means I can give you support and instruction on indexing in general, and using the software, via video call at the beginning of your index. Then I can review your work partway through to make sure you're on the right track and discuss it with you, and finally, help you with edits at the end. An average 100,000 word book might be $1500-1700 CAD to index, but receiving coaching to write your own would cost $200-500 CAD depending on how much time we spend together. Plus, you would learn a new skill! Choosing this option would help me add a social/educational side to my indexing work. I love explaining things patiently to people, and working one on one, whether it has been biology undergraduate students, youth doing environmental projects, library patrons looking for resources, kids doing gymnastics, or authors writing an index. Both options are great, it just depends which one is right for your situation. Send me a message, and we can explore which one might be best for you. And hey, congratulations on writing a book, and getting it all the way to the last stage, the index!