diff --git a/src/main/java/com/internetitem/logback/elasticsearch/AbstractElasticsearchPublisher.java b/src/main/java/com/internetitem/logback/elasticsearch/AbstractElasticsearchPublisher.java
index 98d7034..d264231 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/internetitem/logback/elasticsearch/AbstractElasticsearchPublisher.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/internetitem/logback/elasticsearch/AbstractElasticsearchPublisher.java
@@ -172,7 +172,7 @@ private void serializeEvents(JsonGenerator gen, List<T> eventsCopy, List<Abstrac
 
 	private void serializeIndexString(JsonGenerator gen, T event) throws IOException {
 		gen.writeStartObject();
-		gen.writeObjectFieldStart("index");
+		gen.writeObjectFieldStart("create");
 		gen.writeObjectField("_index", indexPattern.encode(event));
 		String type = settings.getType();
 		if (type != null) {