How To Write a Table of Contents in a Book

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Unless it’s a novel with numbers for chapter titles, the table of contents (toc) provides a helpful overview of the contents of the book you’re considering.

Especially with non-fiction books, the table of contents makes it easier to see at a glance if the book in question addresses a specific problem or question.

You are reading: Table of contents in books

You also want to offer the same benefits to your readers.

so how do you create a toc that will help you sell more copies?

what is the index of a book?

Raise your hand if one of the first things you look for when you buy a book is the table of contents. after reading the description of the book (on the sales page or back cover), look for confirmation that this book contains the information you seek.

The purpose of a table of contents is twofold:

• to provide readers with a helpful preview of a book’s main themes
• to provide the author with a framework for writing and structuring the book

sounds pretty simple. and many tocs are just that. some go into much more detail.

where do you find the index of a book?

while a novel with only numbers for chapter titles may save the toc for the end of the book (if it includes one at all), most books have it in front after the copyright page or the dedication page (if the book has one).

comes before any of the pre-chapter reading pages in your book:

• preface
• foreword
• foreword
• introduction

You want your table of contents to be easy for your reader to find, so they can confirm that your book addresses their questions or offers a solution to their problem.

The sooner they see it, the more likely they are to buy your book.

why do you need a table of contents?

In addition to the purposes mentioned above, a book index offers the following benefits:

• shows how your book is divided into parts/sections and what they cover;
• gives your reader the opportunity to jump to specific chapters based on their interest;
• gives you, the author, a basic outline or action plan for the content of your book;
• gives you the opportunity to show off your brilliant chapter titles;
• provides a place to “hang” relevant keywords for search optimization

Even if you’re a book fanatic, think about how your readers will appreciate a table of contents that immediately tells them what to expect from your book.

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do it for them.

how do you write the index of a book?

If you’re using atticus, you’ll see that the table of contents is automatically generated based on the pages you create for your book. useful, right? we think so too.

pages (for mac/ios) also automatically generates and updates a toc in the left margin as you type (just like google docs), but you can also insert a toc into your book document. and just like the atticus toc, this one updates automatically as you add a new set of content with header styles.

follow the steps below to insert your pages into the toc:

1. If you haven’t already done so, apply paragraph styles to the text you want to appear in your book’s table of contents (heading 1, heading 2, etc.).
2. click to place the insertion point of your toc in the text. then click on the toolbar and select “table of contents”.
3. to create a table of contents for the entire book, click the insert table of contents button at the bottom of the bar side of your table of contents.
4. For more details and instructions on how to modify your book’s table of contents, click here.

if you don’t see the table of contents in the “insert” menu, make sure you click the insert menu at the top of your screen (menu bar), not the insert option in the toolbar .

if you’re using ms word, you’ll need to insert one yourself… we’re not saying it’s a deal breaker, and many writers prefer word for writing books and other projects if word is their go-to software. choice for this book, use the following steps to create a toc:

1. go to the “references” menu and select “index” on the far left.
2. Choose one of the automatic tables, the manual table, or select “custom index” below to bring up a dialog.
3. if this is a print edition, make sure the “show page numbers” box is checked. check the box “right align page numbers” if you want them to be aligned on the right side.
4. if this is an e-book, make sure the box is unchecked and “use hyperlinks instead of page numbers” is checked.
5. choose a tab leader (or “none”) from the dropdown menu.
6. in the format dropdown menu, choose a specific format style for your index.
7. choose how many levels you want to display. this will depend on the style you choose for chapter titles and (if you have) subtitles.
8. click “modify” to see the menu of different styling options for your toc.
9. click “ok” on the main toc dialog to build your index.
10. select all (ctrl+a) and adjust the settings if you want to select a different font, font size, etc.

table of contents of the book: 5 elements to take into account when creating yours

When you’re creating and modifying your book’s table of contents, you’ll want to keep the following items in mind:

1. Titles and Heading Styles: In word especially, you won’t have a toc unless the chapter titles are set to Heading 1 or Heading 2 style. You can also set a subhead/slogan in heading 3 if you want a three level toc (h1-h3).
2. chapter numbers: You’ll want your chapters to be numbered, and for some books (ie novels), numbers alone are fine. those numbers still need to be set in the heading 1 or heading 2 style. of the chapters in heading 2 and the subheadings (if any) in heading 3; or you can set your title to “title” style and choose heading 1 for each page title you want to see in your table of contents (including chapter titles, your introduction, etc.).
3. page numbers: For print editions of your book, you’ll want to make sure page numbers are enabled for your table of contents. you can also choose to align your numbers on the right side and set a tab line leading to them.
4. Hyperlinks: For digital or e-book editions, you’ll want to make sure hyperlinks are enabled (and page numbers disabled) for each item in your index, so that your reader can click on (and navigate to) a chapter title that interests them.

format options: example table of contents

If you’re using atticus, the app continually generates and updates a tab based on your book’s existing pages (which you can easily add or remove). The following example uses one of the built-in themes: penelope.

If you’re using ms word, here are some sample index pages you can create using the custom index option from the references menu.

example #1: basic print table

This one-level index uses the basic “template” style with page numbers, a dotted tab line, and no hyperlinks.

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example #2: print table “fancy”

Another example for a print edition of a book, this one also uses the “custom toc” option and opts for the “fancy” format in the format dropdown menu.

example #3: “signature” (clickable) toc e-book

Here’s an example of a custom table of contents designed for an e-book, with page numbers turned off and hyperlinks checked. the format style is “distinct”, but you can change the style setting using the “modify” button in the toc dialog.

Hyperlinks are not obvious here, and you will need to ctrl-click each link to navigate to each page. links become more visible and easy to use (simple click) after converting your file to mobi, epub or pdf format.

more examples of toc

For the sake of variety, let’s look at a few more examples of tables of contents. the first shows three levels of titles to create a more detailed toc.

source

example #2: color

Here’s another toc with three levels, but this one has some color added (which is an option, though it does increase printing costs) and some lines added to separate the chapter numbers from their titles.

source

example #3: split into parts

This last example shows a two-level table of contents divided into parts i and ii. the sublevel is shown by adding numbers for the specified sections.

source

To create something similar in word, you can set the “part” titles to heading 1 and the chapter titles (and other numbered pages) to heading 2.

Now that you have a better understanding of the benefits of having a table of contents in your book, and the basics of creating one, it’s time to practice on your own book.

The word table of contents allows you greater flexibility with formatting, while atticus uses your chosen theme and keeps the table of contents up to date as you work.

Whatever you prefer, spend some time playing around with the options and comparing your results.

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