I haven't found book indexing so onerous, in fact quite the opposite. Yes, it is time-consuming detail work. But it gives you the chance to structure one important avenue into your argument for readers, in part, at least, according to what you consider most important. Deciding which terms organise access to which other terms at which levels of generality, and which terms will be more heavily vs. more lightly cross-referenced, can be an interesting exercise. New kinds of structure emerge unexpectedly: I've always learned something new in the process of indexing. In addition to reading through guidelines, I would recommend above all trying to arrange your schedule so that your indexing doesn't have to be too rushed.
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