Article
January 10, 2024
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by Stephen

2023: Year in Review

Happy New Year!

I hope your year is off to a fabulous start, whether you are hitting the ground running or easing into the new year. I recently heard the term “gentle January,” which sounds about right to me. Do I have goals for this year? Yes. Do I need to accomplish them all in this first month? No. I had a good break over the holidays unplugging from work, and I’m also taking my time preparing for 2024.

As part of getting ready for 2024, I am still reviewing 2023. I don’t think I’ve shared these year-in-reviews before. I enjoy seeing others reflect on their businesses, maybe glean an insight or two for myself, and thought you might appreciate a glimpse into my business.

That said, I don’t expect you to emulate my business, or for my metrics to be any sort of benchmark for anyone but myself. I have completed eleven full years as a freelancer. I index full time, and I now exclusively index, as a couple of years ago I made the decision to stop proofreading. While I occasionally hire a subcontractor to assist with indexes, I’ve also realized that I don’t enjoy managing others, and so I only subcontract when schedules are particularly tight. I do the majority of the work myself. If you are also an indexer, aspects of my business probably look quite different from yours, and that’s perfectly alright. I believe that the publishing industry is large enough for all of us. 

2023 By the Numbers

  • 52 books indexed
  • 31 trade books vs. 21 scholarly books
  • Worked directly with 10 publishers (both trade and scholarly, accounting for 31 books) and was hired by 19 authors/co-author pairs (one author hired me for three books, all part of a series, for 21 books total from authors)
  • 38 books were from clients within Canada, 13 books from clients in the US, and 1 book from an author in Singapore

I am pleasantly surprised with the number of books I indexed this year, especially considering that I was so busy in the first few months of 2023 working on my own book. I am also surprised that I didn’t index more scholarly books, as it felt like I did. However, scholarly books usually take more time, so that may account for feeling like it was more.

The trade books, which I am broadly defining as for a general audience, ranged from a children’s book, a hiking guide, a health book, histories, business books, nature/science/environmental books, Indigenous histories, and Bible commentaries. Some of these books, in terms of their density and indexing challenges, could be considered trade-scholarly crossovers.

I find my mix of clients interesting as well. When I began freelancing, I primarily marketed to Canadian publishers, which is still reflected in the majority of my projects coming directly from Canadian publishers, some of whom I’ve been working with for most of my career. For the projects where I worked directly with the author, 10 books were published by the same three university presses. That indicates to me that those presses are regularly referring me to their authors, for which I am grateful. The other 11 books (nine authors, or about 20%) are either with other presses or self-published. 

Project Highlights

It is difficult to choose a favourite from the 52 books I indexed in 2023. So many fascinating subjects. Even for the books I am less personally engaged with, I make a point to find something interesting. On reflection, there are two that especially stand out and are personally meaningful.

One is In the House of My Pilgrimage: Violence, Noetic Healing, and Personhood, by Donald Sheehan, compiled and edited by Xenia Sheehan (Resource Publications, 2023). Don Sheehan is one of my favourite authors. He was a poet and an English professor, the director of The Frost Place, a theologian, and a translator of the Psalms. He had a gift for combining scholarly rigor and a poetic sensibility with deeply personal reflections and theological insights.  He also died in 2010, and his wife, Xenia, has since been editing and publishing his writings. I previously indexed an earlier volume of essays, The Shield of Psalmic Prayer, for which I won the 2021 Ewart-Daveluy Award, and it was an honour and joy to index this latest volume. It is a book I want to reread and savour. It was especially lovely, this time, to work directly with Xenia.

Truly Human: Indigeneity and Indigenous Resurgence in Formosa, by Scott Simon (University of Toronto Press, 2023), was also deeply meaningful. A work of anthropology, it examines the beliefs, lifeways, and political struggles of the Sediq and Truku people of Formosa, also known as Taiwan. I grew up in Taiwan and have two adopted brothers who are Indigenous Taiwanese. While my brothers are from different groups, and I recognize that the various Indigenous groups are unique in their beliefs and cultures, I still found this book to be a fascinating look at the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan more broadly, and the Sediq and Truku specifically. I wish I had access to information like this as a kid, and that my brothers had better access to their cultures and peoples. 

If you know of anyone else writing or publishing about the Indigenous Peoples of Taiwan, hit me up! 

Book Published!

Another highlight in 2023 is, of course, finally publishing my book, Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide. I’m so glad I persevered, even if publishing took longer than I expected.

I released the book on July 11. As of the first week of January, the book has sold 141 copies, of which 77 copies are paperback and 64 copies are ebooks.

Thank you to all of you who have bought a copy, written a review, or recommended the book to someone. I am so pleased that the book is finding its readers. I think the book is doing fantastic for a self-published volume on such a niche subject. 

Public Speaking

On a more personal note, I’ve noticed that I am becoming more confident speaking in public, which is huge for me.

If we’ve met or if you’ve heard me speak, you probably know that I am both very soft spoken and that I speak with a slight stutter. I especially stumble over words that begin with vowels, like the word index, and I can have trouble enunciating the initial sounds if I have been silent for a period of time. It is like I need to manually flip a switch to reconnect my brain to my vocal cords.

I also stutter more when I am nervous, and there is nothing more nerve-wracking than public speaking when you have a speech impediment. But I’ve learned that it makes a big difference to acknowledge upfront that I stutter. Acknowledging that helps to remove the embarrassment, which helps me to relax. Relaxing, in turn, helps me to speak more clearly. 

In 2023, I both presented and led a workshop at the Indexing Society of Canada’s annual conference. I was also interviewed for two podcasts (one still to be released). Though that doesn’t sound like a lot, it was a lot for me, and I felt much more comfortable this year than in past years. I still don’t think that I am a particularly good speaker, but feeling more comfortable and confident is a significant personal accomplishment. 

Thank You

Lastly, a huge thank you for joining me in 2023. Having you to write for, and receiving your encouragement and support, makes the effort to write this blog worthwhile. If you’d like to receive these reflections directly in your email, you can sign up for my newsletter below.

For 2024, I plan to get back to a more regular schedule, sending this blog biweekly, every other Tuesday. I will continue to focus on indexing and freelancing. If you have a question or topic you’d like me to address, please let me know. I’m happy to consider it.

Article
October 25, 2023
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by Stephen

Persevering Through the Dip

It’s tough becoming established as a freelancer.

In my last two posts, I’ve written about marketing and money. Today I want to acknowledge that it also takes time to become established as a freelancer. And that time can feel painfully slow and leave you wondering if you are ever going to succeed.

The time and space on the way to being established can be described as the Dip. This is a concept I learned from Seth Godin, from his book The Dip: A Little Book that Teaches You When to Quit (And When to Stick). The book is indeed little, and I highly recommend it.

The idea is that there is always a Dip on the way to mastery and success. The Dip comes after the fun and excitement of learning a new skill or beginning a new venture. The Dip is the long slog towards success, wondering if anyone will hire you, wondering if your skills are good enough, wondering if your business is a failure. 

When it comes to indexing, I think the Dip can include the struggle to market and find work.  It is discouraging when you don’t know who to contact, no one seems to want to hire you, or when there are large gaps in your schedule between projects. The Dip can also include struggling to improve your skills. It takes practice to gain proficiency. If you are still struggling after the fifth or tenth index, doubt can creep in on whether you will ever get the hang of this. The Dip can also involve a project or client relationship blowing up in your face. Do you really have what it takes to run a business? Do you dare try again and accept a new project?

I want to assure you that yes, it is possible to get through the Dip. I also want to acknowledge that getting established is hard. I’ve often heard the rule of thumb that it takes about three years to become established as a freelancer. That was true for me. I noticed that the number of queries I was fielding seemed to pop in my third year, as did my income and the number of indexes I wrote. Though I also know other indexers who have found full-time work sooner, and others who are in the Dip for longer. The Dip varies from person to person, though everyone faces it one way or another. 

Godin writes that when in the Dip, you are faced with two choices. Do you quit, or do you persevere?

Quitting isn’t always bad. I knew an indexer, who started about the same time I did, who later quit indexing to focus on being an editor. They realized that they were better at editing, earned more from editing, and found editing more enjoyable, and so it made sense for them to quit indexing. Similarly, a few years ago I made the decision to quit proofreading, as indexing is a better fit for me. If indexing is not a good fit for you, or if freelancing is not meeting your needs and goals, then quitting might be the right decision. Quitting strategically is not failure. What I don’t want you to do is to quit because the Dip just feels too hard.

The trick to getting through the Dip is to keep moving. As Godin writes, “The Dip is flexible. It responds to the effort you put into it.” Keep practicing your skills and accepting new projects, knowing that each index is an opportunity to learn and improve. Keep marketing, reaching out to authors and publishers who might want to hire you. You never know who is going to write back. Keep networking with other indexers and editors, attending conferences and participating in online events and forums. You may gain a referral or advice for a sticky problem, or at least feel less lonely in the profession. Move through the Dip rather than being stuck at the bottom.

Lastly, be realistic about the fact that the Dip exists and that you may be in it. Whether it takes a year or three or more to get out of the Dip, it will be a stressful time, with a lot of uncertainty and doubt. It will take a lot of work to get out of the Dip. And that’s okay too, because the work you do now is laying the foundation for your future success.

It is possible to succeed as a freelance indexer. You can build the business that you desire. I believe that you can do it.

Article
October 11, 2023
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by Stephen

Money Advice to Make Freelancing Easier

In my last post, I wrote about my two golden rules for marketing and building a client base. Today, I want to write about money.

If you are a freelancer, or are thinking of becoming a freelancer, I assume at least part of your motivation is to earn an income. Even if an income is not your primary goal, money is still likely to be involved, unless you plan to work pro bono. Some basic financial planning and understanding is crucial, though don’t worry, you don’t need to be an expert.

As a disclaimer, I am not a financial expert either, so by all means please do your own research or consult actual experts.

These are a few things which I have found helpful in my own business, and which I wish I understood better when I first started. I hope this helps set you on the right path too.

Outsource Tasks, Not Responsibility

You don’t need to handle all of your bookkeeping and taxes by yourself. If you are not comfortable doing so, lack the time, or know that a professional can do it faster than you can, then you can certainly hire a bookkeeper, accountant, or other assistant to help you with your finances. You don’t need to do this alone.

What you can’t outsource, however, is responsibility for your finances. This is your business and you need to understand what is happening. Schedule a regular time, maybe once or twice a month, to review your finances. Even if you are not doing the work yourself to create invoices, record payments, or record expenses, understand how the process works. You don’t want to be in the red because a client failed to pay and you never noticed. 

Plan Ahead

For me, a key part of managing my finances is being organized and planning ahead – which can be hard. How I manage my finances continues to evolve as my needs change and I learn better methods to be organized. For you, try to set up a good system from the start, while also know that it is possible to change as you go along. 

Here are a few tips for planning ahead and organizing your finances that I’ve found useful.

  • Plan for an unpredictable cash flow. One of the downsides of freelancing is that no one is paying you a regular salary. How frequently you issue invoices will vary. The amounts on each invoice will be different. Clients may also pay early or late. This can sometimes lead to a cash flow crunch when you need money to pay your bills and payments have not yet arrived – which is why it is important to keep a reserve fund. Set money aside from each payment so that you can still pay yourself and meet your financial obligations when payments are late and cash is short. There are different ways to do this. I’ve found the Profit First system, by Mike Michalowicz, to be helpful (I recommend his book by the same name). Or can you find or develop a different system.
  • Set financial goals. It can be easy to drift along in your business without some kind of goal. Without a target income, you may even earn less than you need to to stay afloat. So set some goals for yourself. If you are just starting out, maybe aim to increase next year’s income by ten or fifteen thousand dollars. If you’ve reached a comfortable yearly income or have all of the work that you want, I recommend still setting a minimum income that you want to reach. I find it helpful for gauging my progress throughout the year and for ensuring that I have enough money coming in for my budgeted expenses and savings. Once I reach my goal, I can either continue to earn extra or I can give myself permission to take time off. 
  • Decide how to track the numbers. Will you use bookkeeping software? There are several options. Or track expenses and income in Excel? It doesn’t really matter so long as it is accurate and works for you. When I first started, I bought a program to handle invoices and I kept track of everything else in spreadsheets. Now that I have a somewhat larger business, with more invoices, expenses, and also now royalties from my book, I find it more convenient to use an all-in-one bookkeeping program.
  • Use templates for invoices. If you plan to be in business for a while, then you are going to be sending out a lot of invoices. Save yourself some time and use a template. This could be using a template within your bookkeeping program or it could be a template that you create in Word or Excel. 
  • Track expenses. Have someplace where you record expenses immediately, and have a place where you keep receipts. For physical receipts, consider also taking a photograph of the receipt and keeping that photograph in a dedicated folder on your computer. You can claim business expenses on your taxes, but only if the expense is documented.
  • Add bookkeeping to your schedule. When it comes to creating and sending invoices, recording payments and expenses, and reviewing my finances, I find it much easier to remember and to do when it is a regular part of my schedule. So, I do my bookkeeping twice a month. Find a time that works for you.

Taxes

As with planning ahead for an unpredictable cash flow, plan ahead to pay taxes. Set money aside from each payment in a separate account so that you aren’t caught short at tax time. Depending on your jurisdiction and income, you may also need to pay quarterly installments.

It can be difficult to know how much to save. I suggest plugging some estimated figures into a tax program or tax calculator, taking into account any tax credits or deductions you anticipate claiming. The goal is to save a ballpark figure so that you at least have most of the money set aside.

Depending on where you live and how much you earn, you may also be responsible for collecting sales tax, as well as complying with other business regulations. This may also depend on the type of business you have (for example, a sole proprietorship versus incorporation). As a one-person business, requirements shouldn’t be too complicated, but still do your research for the jurisdiction you live within and proactively abide by the rules. 

To sum up: have a plan, as I have repeated throughout this post. If you understand what is happening financially with your business, if you have a place for recording and tracking all of the numbers, and if you have a schedule for keeping all of that information updated, then I find it is fairly easy to keep the whole system moving along and to remain financially healthy. It doesn’t need to be a lot of work, so long as it is done regularly.

Article
September 27, 2023
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by Stephen

Marketing and Building a Client Base, My Two Golden Rules

Marketing is tough. It may be the most fear-inducing part of being a freelancer. Especially if you are an introvert, like most indexers are. How do you find publishers and authors with books that need indexing? How do authors and publishers find you?

Publishing is a vast, global industry.

Where do you start?

It can feel overwhelming and paralyzing.

I also want to acknowledge that you may not have previously worked in publishing, so the inner workings of the publishing world may be even more opaque.

So, let’s start with demystifying publishing. Once you understand the industry a little better, the way forward with marketing may be clearer.

I’m going to share with you my top two rules, or insights, which have made the biggest difference for me when marketing and building my client base, and end with some additional tips.

Rule #1: You Don’t Need to Serve Everyone

It is impossible for you to serve everyone.

According to these statistics published last year by Wordsrated, approximately 3.52 million nonfiction books are published annually, worldwide. The proportion of English-language titles will be smaller, but still at least in the hundreds of thousands. How many of those books do you think you can index?

Personally, I index about 65 books per year. Your mileage may vary. I also turn down maybe another 20-30 books, mainly because I don’t have room in my schedule.

Another angle to consider is that the publishing industry is not monolithic. Yes, there are the Big Five trade publishers in New York and a few massive companies that dominate scholarly publishing. But many smaller companies also exist which publish excellent books. Publishing is also broken up by subject matter, with almost all presses and imprints focusing on different areas.

From a marketing standpoint, I found this realization to be incredibly freeing. Instead of being overwhelmed by the sheer number of publishers I could potentially contact, there are instead whole swaths of the industry that I can safely ignore. Don’t index science and engineering books? Great! I can cross all those publishers off of my list. Can’t find contact information for the editors at Penguin Random House? I’ll cross them off my list too. That still leaves many possibilities.

As you think about marketing, think about who you want to work with (or what kind of books you want to index) and also who you do not want to work with (or what kind of books you want to avoid). It can be scary to declare a niche, for fear of missing out on work. But having a few markets or topics that you focus on can have at least three benefits. One, it makes marketing less overwhelming because you now have a more manageable number of potential clients to contact. Two, it helps to clearly define who you are in the eyes of potential clients. Clients want to know that you are a good fit for their book, and one way to build that confidence is to give clients something specific about your experience and expertise. And three, it is nice to avoid having to repeatedly say no to projects which are clearly not a good fit. Be clear up front, and the people who do contact you are more likely to be of interest.

Rule #2: Build a Diverse Client Base

My second rule may seem to contradict my first rule. After telling you that you can ignore whole sectors of publishing, now I want you to go wide?

It is going wide enough to provide steady work. I don’t want you to be reliant on one or two clients for all of your work. I have worked with publishers who have been shut down or downsized. I have also lost work when editors I worked with left the company and my name wasn’t passed on to their successors (or maybe their successors already had their own preferred indexers). As wonderful as that first steady client may be, keep looking.

However, there is probably also a limit to how many clients you can reasonably handle. For myself, most of my work comes from the same dozen or so publishers, either being hired directly or from referrals from the in-house editors. Some publishers only send me one or two books per year. Others send me four or five, or even upwards of ten. All together, it adds up to a full schedule. If I lose a client, I find there are usually enough offers from other clients to compensate. New publishers also occasionally find me – or I find them – and get added to this mix.

Even if I worked for a truly large publisher who was willing and able to fill my schedule, I’d feel more secure with a diverse client base. Keeping my first rule in mind, I don’t need or want to work with everyone. I don’t even work with all of the publishers within my niches. But I still want that happy medium of work coming in from multiple sources.

Additional Marketing Tips

Building upon these two rules, here are some additional tips for marketing and finding indexing work.

  • Look beyond New York and the Big Five. I’m sure someone indexes for the likes of HarperCollins and Macmillan, but those publishers can also be hard to reach. There are many smaller publishers outside of New York, which in my experience, can be easier to contact. Some editors also prefer to hire local. So, see if there are any publishers nearby, whether that means within your town or city, state or province, or region. Market yourself as a local indexer. If feasible, ask if you can stop by the publisher’s office to meet the managing editor. Attend local publishing or editing events to meet editors.
  • Don’t be afraid to contact smaller publishers. Even if they only send you one or two projects a year, projects from several such clients can add up.
  • Keep an eye out for new publishers. They may not yet have their stable of freelancers and may welcome you getting in touch.
  • Identify the gatekeepers. Indexing is a niche task, and even within a publishing company, it is usually only one or two people (or more, depending on the size of the press) who actually hire or refer indexers. Those are the people that you want to contact. They usually have job titles like managing or production editors, though in some cases, acquisition editors may also refer indexers to authors.
  • Identify and work your network. If you formerly worked in academia, tell all of those professors that you know, who are potential authors, that you are now an indexer. If you know someone in publishing, let them know as well. Attend local author, editing, and publishing events, and introduce yourself to people (which is scary, I know. But I’ve done it, and it can be a good way to meet people). Even if you feel disconnected from the publishing industry, tell everyone you know about your new career. Something will turn up.
  • Be specific. As I mentioned earlier, clients want to know that you are a good fit. Be specific when discussing your interests and experience. It is okay to mention books that you have indexed for practice.  Or, if you have been hired by one publisher, mention that when contacting a new publisher. Show why you are a good fit.
  • Be persistent and patient. Marketing is both a numbers game and a waiting game. Out of ten queries, you might get two or three responses. Or an editor might wait an entire year to get back to you (as happened once to me). Keep putting your name out there.

Most of this reflection has been aimed at marketing to publishers. That has been my primary marketing focus and it has worked for me. I kind of prefer working with publishers because, now that I have a good relationship with several, I don’t need to actively market anymore.

When I first started indexing, marketing directly to authors also felt completely overwhelming and unfathomable, and so I didn’t. However, I know some indexers, especially those with an academic background, who are able to successfully market to academic authors. Some indexers are also very good at asking for testimonials and referrals. So, it is also possible to market to authors and to primarily work with authors. As I discussed above, identify who you want to work with, what kind of books you want to index, and who you can access, and go from there.

Lastly, I want to acknowledge that marketing can be a slow process. It can take several months to find that first project. There may then be another gap until that second project, and then another year or two until your schedule is consistently full. That was my experience and the experience of many indexers I know. But it is absolutely possible to make those connections with authors and publishers and to find enough work to fill your schedule. Keep putting yourself out there. I believe that you can do it.

Article
August 30, 2023
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by Stephen

Book Indexing: Post-Publication Highs and Lows

My book for sale at the When Words Collide writing festival, Calgary.

It has been seven weeks since I launched Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide. It feels like that time has flown by and it feels like that time has crawled by. A book doesn’t stop (while, it kind of feels like it stops but it doesn’t really) when it launches, and a lot has been happening behind the scenes. I want to share some of that with you. 

All the Feelings

The first couple of weeks after publication were a burst of excitement, with the temptation to check sales reports five times a day. More unexpectedly, I’ve also spent a few weeks feeling quite low, struggling with focus and motivation. I wasn’t sure why until a client mentioned their own experience trying to stave off the empty-nest syndrome of having a new book published. Which makes sense. I spent almost three years focused on writing and producing my book. Now that the book is launched, there is some ongoing marketing, distribution, and sales tracking, but the bulk of the work is done. There is this feeling that the work has ground to a halt and I haven’t figured out yet what to replace it with.

I do want to continue writing and to start a new project. It is also taking me time to transition. Which is okay. I am giving myself permission to take some time to figure out what comes next. 

(And I am feeling better now, thank you.)

Sales

So far Book Indexing has sold about 70 copies, somewhat more in paperback than ebooks, which I think is respectable for a self-published book and such a niche subject. There was an initial spike in sales at the launch, with numbers now much lower, though still selling. My hope is that the book will remain perennially relevant (the technology may change, but I believe the principles of indexing will stay the same), with a few copies selling each month. 

When Words Collide

I first encountered indie authors and realized that self-publishing can be a viable option at When Words Collide, a grassroots writing festival in Calgary that I’ve been attending since 2015 or 2016. I didn’t think I would sell a copy at the festival, since the focus is mostly on genre fiction, but I figured if nothing else, it would be a good learning experience to have a few copies for sale on the shared authors table. And, I actually sold a copy! It felt like my self-publishing adventure was coming full circle. 

Audreys Books

Book Indexing is also now on sale at Audreys, a local bookstore in downtown Edmonton. I dropped four copies off last week and had a lovely chat with their staff member who handles consignment. It feels like another milestone: my book is on the shelf in a physical bookstore!

Local Bookstores and Libraries

Speaking of bookstores, self-published authors typically lack the distribution reach to get onto the shelves of brick-and-mortar bookstores, unless you are able to hand deliver copies. That said, most bookstores should be able to order the book, if you request it. So if you would like a paperback copy of Book Indexing and want to also support your local bookstore, you can!

Book Indexing is also available to libraries through a number of platforms, such as Overdrive and BorrowBox. If you prefer to borrow the book, please feel free to ask your local library to buy a copy. You get to read, I still get paid, and the book is then available for others to discover, which is awesome. 

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If you haven’t yet picked up a copy, links to online retailers can be found here (I’ve added more retailers since the last time I shared this link) or please order through your local bookstore or library.

Thank you again to all of you who have bought a copy, written a review, or helped spread the word. Your support and interest means so much.

Article
August 23, 2023
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by Stephen

East Asian Names, Deep Dive

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you are probably aware that indexing can get pretty technical. Details matter. Creativity works best when interwoven with the rules and conventions that make an index tick.

All that to say, today’s reflection is going to get geeky.

East Asian Names

I just finished indexing a book within the field of Asian studies and literary criticism. Asian studies—especially East Asia and history—is one of my favorite areas to index in. I grew up in Taiwan and I still speak and understand Mandarin and Taiwanese to varying extents.

I have also, in the past, fielded questions from other indexers on how to index Chinese names. Chinese names, as well as Korean and Japanese names, follow a different naming convention than English or other Western names. If you are not familiar with these names, they can be confusing to index. I was reminded of that on this index I just finished, so I thought I’d write a quick primer.

To start, be aware that there may be more than one naming convention at play in the book. The Western convention is to write names in the format of First name Surname (or, using different terms, Given name Family name). In China, Korea, and Japan, that format is reversed. To use my own names as an example, in English my first name is Stephen and my surname is Ullstrom, written as Stephen Ullstrom. In Mandarin, my surname is Ou 歐 and my given name is Shijie 士傑, written as Ou Shijie 歐士傑.

My experience with the English-language books that I index is that both formats can appear in the same book. People discussed who are from within China, Japan, or Korea—such as historical figures, politicians, or scholars—are often presented with their names in the traditional format, with the surname first. People who are Korean American or Japanese Canadian, for example, or scholars who are published by Western presses and journals, will probably have their names written in the Western format.

Don’t assume that all of the names in the book follow the same naming convention. They might, if the author and/or press made that decision. But there is also a good chance that the names reflect how those people prefer to be known or are typically known.

Identifying the Surname

Since names are typically sorted in the index by surname (assuming the name has a surname), the key to correctly indexing East Asian names is to first identify the surname.

This is not always easy, especially if you are not familiar with the language or what constitutes a typical surname. But, if you can identify the surname, most of your work is done.

If I see a name that I am not sure about, I do a few minutes of research using one or more of the following methods.

  • I look to see how the author refers to the person, especially in subsequent mentions. The usual convention for subsequent mentions is to use the surname, so look to see what the author uses.
  • If a scholar, I also try to find the person in the bibliography, as the bibliography should also be sorted by surname.
  • I try to find the person online. If a scholar, I look for their faculty webpage or for citations to other books or articles they have written, which may indicate to me their surname. If a cultural, historical, or political figure, Wikipedia often states, at the top of the page, which part of the name is the surname.
  • I also look at the name itself. Chinese and Korean names, for example, are often written, in roman script, with a space between the surname and the given name. This doesn’t help for a name like Hao Wang (Chinese American mathematician and philosopher, surname Wang), but does for the Taiwanese writer Pai Hsien-yung (surname Pai).
  • If I am still not sure, I ask the author.

Comma Necessary?

Once the surname is identified, it is time to add the name to the index.

Because Western names are written in the format First name Surname, names are inverted, with a comma, so that the name can be sorted by surname. But what if the name does not need to be inverted?

I have seen indexes and bibliographies where a comma is inserted anyway. Pai Hsien-yung is written as Pai, Hsien-yung. But to me that implies that the name is properly written as Hsien-yung Pai, which is incorrect. I much prefer to omit the comma. Since the name already leads with the surname, I simply index it as Pai Hsien-yung.

Alphabetical Sort

The last consideration—and this is getting geeky—is how to sort the names.

Most of my clients prefer letter-by-letter alphabetical sort, which can cause some problems. Having some names with a comma and some names without interferes with the sorting. Surnames can also be short and can intersperse with other entries, which makes the list of names difficult to scan. This is especially true when there are several people with the same surname, which is fairly common.

So, if letter-by-letter sorting is specified, I force-sort to make these names easier to scan. This means both ignoring the comma when alphabetizing and making sure that like surnames stick together.

In this example from the index I just finished, without force-sorting, the names with commas rise to the top and there are a couple of other subject-matter-related main headings mixed in.

Liu, Jianmei
Liu, Lydia
Liu Denghan
Liu Jiang
Liushou nüshi (Those Left Behind; film)
Liu Weihua
liuxuesheng
Liu Yiqing

Force-sorted, with the commas ignored and the names brought together, this series of main headings makes more sense alphabetically and is much easier to scan.

Liu Denghan
Liu Jiang
Liu, Jianmei
Liu, Lydia
Liu Weihua
Liu Yiqing
Liushou nüshi (Those Left Behind; film)
liuxuesheng

Indexing names from another language can be intimidating. The key is to understand how those names work, and to not assume that they follow Western conventions. For Chinese, Japanese, and Korean names, first identify the surname. From there, determine if the name needs to be inverted. When editing the index, consider whether the names need to be force-sorted for alphabetization and ease of reading.

The goal, as always, is an index that is easier for its user.

Article
August 2, 2023
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by Stephen

Index Profile: Placing (Hiding?) Sensitive Entries

Where do you put potentially embarrassing or upsetting information in an index? The information is true. It is discussed. It qualifies as indexable. But where and how should it appear?

I faced this question when I received feedback last year from Adele Weder, the author of the biography Ron Thom, Architect: The Life of a Creative Modernist (Greystone Books, 2022), about the Canadian modernist architect, Ron Thom. My original array for Thom, for which I used the em-dash-modified format (which I like to use for biographies), looked like this (for space and the sake of this example, I am only including the first three subheadings for each section):

Thom, Ron (Ronald James): Adelaide Street apartment, 255–56; alcoholism, 34, 212–13, 214, 239–40, 255, 257, 259–60, 272–73, 275; art and, 17, 288n20;…

—ARCHITECTURE CAREER: apprenticeship, 46–47; on architects, 208–9; on art and architecture, 38, 133, 200, 211–12, 243–44;…

—ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS: Atria North, 246–47; Banff Centre’s Thom Studio, 254, 254; B.C. Electric Building, 87–88, 90–92;…

—ARTWORK: At the Fair Grounds, 37, 38; Seated Figure, 41–42, 42, 290n2

—FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIPS: children, 54, 57, 101, 102, 172, 234, 237–38; courting Chris, 26; divorce from Chris, 113–14, 295n6;…

Do you see the problem?

Alcoholism is the second subheading. While acknowledging that alcoholism was a significant problem in Thom’s life, the author was concerned that having the subheading so early in the array overshadowed Thom’s architectural accomplishments.

Which I think is a fair point.

When I use the em-dash-modified format, I usually treat the first section as a catch-all for the subheadings that don’t fit anywhere else. These are often subheadings for childhood, death, miscellaneous jobs, hobbies, personal quirks, and, in this case, alcoholism. I think I did notice that alcoholism fell at the front, which struck me as unfortunate while also part of the vagaries of the alphabetical sort. So, I didn’t put too much more thought into it. 

The author was not so quick to let the index—and me—off the hook. I am glad she pushed back. After some back-and-forth discussion, I revised the array:

Thom, Ron (Ronald James)

—ARCHITECTURE CAREER: apprenticeship, 46–47; on architects, 208–9; on art and architecture, 38, 133, 200, 211–12, 243–44;…

—ARCHITECTURE PROJECTS: Atria North, 246–47; Banff Centre’s Thom Studio, 254, 254; B.C. Electric Building, 87–88, 90–92;…

—ARTWORK: At the Fair Grounds, 37, 38; Seated Figure, 41–42, 42, 290n2

—FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIPS: children, 54, 57, 101, 102, 172, 234, 237–38; courting Chris, 26; divorce from Chris, 113–14, 295n6;…

—PERSONAL LIFE AND VIEWS: Adelaide Street apartment, 255–56; alcoholism, 34, 212–13, 214, 239–40, 255, 257, 259–60, 272–73, 275; art and, 17, 288n20;…

That catch-all section is now labelled “personal life and views,” which sorts it to the very end of the array. The alcoholism subheading is still present, but it is no longer the first thing that readers see. Instead, Thom’s architecture career and projects play the starring role.

I took away three lessons from this experience.

One, it is a good reminder that alphabetical sorting isn’t everything and it is possible to manipulate where entries appear. The goal should be to make entries visible, of course, rather than burying entries. But depending on the material and the needs of the audience, it is possible to move entries around and to highlight or deflect attention as needed.

Two, sensitive information should be handled sensitively. I am not a fan of using the index to ignore or whitewash uncomfortable or difficult information. If there is a significant discussion in the text, then it should also be in the index. But I am open to considering how and where it appears in the index. In Thom’s case, what is the focus of the book? What are the elements of his life which should be celebrated? What are readers looking for, and what should readers be presented with first? The array can be structured accordingly. 

The last lesson is that feedback from authors can be invaluable. I don’t always agree with the feedback, and I may explain my approach if I think the index is misunderstood. But there are also times when I have made a mistake, or I didn’t consider other options, or fully think through the implications. I want to be someone who takes feedback seriously. Even if I disagree with the author’s solution, there may still be something there that I need to reconsider. For this Thom array, I am thankful that Adele Weder, the author, explained her concern and pushed me to look further for a better solution. I think the array and the index are better for it.

Article
July 12, 2023
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by Stephen

Publication Day! And Why I Wrote a Book About Indexing

My book is officially launched!

It is a surreal experience to put the book out into the world. Today, I am still sitting at home, writing an index for a client. Not much has changed in my day-to-day life. Most of the work of finalizing the book and uploading the files happened a couple of week or more ago. And yet anyone can now buy and receive this thing that I have created. 

I am nervous, wondering if the book is going to be a complete flop or if it has a fatal flaw that I missed. But mostly I’m excited. This feels like an end to all of the work of writing and publishing, and the beginning of both marketing and supporting the book, going forward, as well as an opportunity to start a new writing project. I am excited to see how this book is received and what comes next.

I’m not very good at celebrating, but I did want to mark the occasion. My caffeinated beverage of choose is loose leaf green or oolong tea, and I recently bought some Japanese sencha green tea from a local tea shop. I decided to save it until this morning, and I enjoyed a cup as I got the day rolling.

I have also been reflecting on why I have written this book.

The original impetus was noticing that I would occasionally receive queries from authors who ultimately decided to write the index themselves. I respect their decision. It can be difficult trusting someone else to do a good job, or the price may be higher than their budget, or indexing just seems like such an intriguing puzzle. But I did feel bad that there were not better resources to help authors tackle this task.

Writing Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide, I have tried to balance being thorough with also being practical and accessible. By the time you finish this book, you should understand the fundamentals of indexing, and—if you’ve been doing the exercises—you should have a solid head-start and plan for writing your own index. I have written the book so that each chapter builds on itself, so that there is a step-by-step progression. I have also tried to keep the language and descriptions simple, so that the concepts are not too difficult to understand, and so that the book can be read fairly quickly, if the reader is in a hurry. I believe that indexing is a skill that can be taught and learned. 

If you read the book, you can let me know how I’ve done!

Accessibility has also informed my publishing strategy. I’ve decided to publish wide, which among indie authors means that I am not exclusive to Amazon. Instead, the book is mostly being distributed through Draft2Digital, and for the ebook, direct with a few retailers, such as Amazon, Google Play, and Kobo. Through Draft2Digital, the book is available from retailers around the world, including ones that I had never heard of before. For example, with Vivlio, a major book retailer in France, and with Librerías Gandhi, one of the largest bookstore chains in Mexico.

This is in contrast to most books on indexing, which I’ve noticed can be both very expensive and can be difficult to find. They are not always even available on Amazon.

Do I expect to sell a lot of copies in France or Mexico? No, not really. But that is not the point. The point is that the book is available. The point is to make it easier for people to learn about indexing, regardless of where they live. The point is to help improve the quality of indexes, whether by authors, newer indexers, or people exploring indexing as a career. The point is to help editors and others within the publishing industry better understand what is required for an excellent index, and how to work with indexers. Maybe even readers who appreciate a quality index can grow in their appreciation and understanding.

Indexing is poorly understood, even within publishing. And lack of knowledge tends to lead to poor indexes. I want to make indexing more accessible and more easily understood. I believe that the more authors, editors, readers, and even indexers understand the mechanics of indexing and the qualities of an excellent index, the better books will be, and the better it will be for all of us. 

So, big dreams for indexing and indexes. Maybe more than this book can shoulder. But this book is a step, at least, towards making indexing accessible and making indexing known. 

PS. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, you can find your preferred retailer here. If you’d like to learn more about what is in the book, please click here.

Article
May 24, 2023
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by Stephen

Index Profile: Tracing Complicated Relationships in Main Headings, in The Other Great Game

What can main headings be composed of?

Main headings, which kick off an entry or array, usually describe a single person or thing. It could be a name, or a government agency, or a physical object, or a concept. It is concrete and identifiable. Which is what we want in a main heading. Readers need to be able to clearly identify what it is they are searching for.

But sometimes the thing that we are trying to describe is complicated, and it is okay for the main heading to expand and help carry the weight of the text.

I ended up taking this approach for the index for The Other Great Game: The Opening of Korea and the Modern East Asia, by Sheila Miyoshi Jager (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2023). This is a delightful history, squarely within one of my favorite areas to index—East Asian studies—while also quite challenging in its scope and length, at about 570 indexable pages.

This book is about the colonial jockeying for power and control over Korea, with Korea ultimately becoming a protectorate of Japan. One of the challenging aspects was all of the intertwined relationships. Korea is a key player, of course. Japan is also involved, and wanting to be taken seriously as a great power. Russia also has its interests and influence. China is a waning influence, though still trying to exert itself. Though less involved, the other Western powers—US, Britain, Germany, France—all played a role as well.  Much of the book covers the diplomatic back-and-forth as all these powers try to figure out what to do with Korea (instead of respecting Korea’s independence). From an indexing standpoint, what is the best way to index all of these relationships?

Most of these relationships, say between Korea and Japan, or Japan and Russia, are too large to be contained within a subheading or two. These are relationships that span decades, and include wars, lengthy negotiations, and shifts in the balance of power. With so much material to cover, double-posting these relationships under each respective country would have led to enormous, unwieldy arrays.

The solution I landed on was to make the relationship itself the main heading. So, “Korean-Chinese relations,” “Korean-Japanese relations,” “Japanese-Russian relations,” etc… I still had arrays for each country, for subheadings specific to that country, but the bulk of the entries fell under these various arrays for these relationships. This meant that under Korea or Japan, for example, there are several arrays, which break down the discussions into manageable, yet still clearly defined, portions.

This also raised the question of which country to prioritize in the main heading. Should it be “Japanese-Russian relations” or “Russian-Japanese relations”? Because Korea and Japan were the two biggest actors, I decided to let them take the lead, so to speak,, with the Western countries generally being listed second.

These main headings also required a lot of cross-references from the other countries. As I mentioned, double-posting wasn’t a viable option due to the sheer number of entries. Better to pick a single array to place entries under, and then use cross-references to point readers in the right direction. For example, “Russian-Korean relations. See Korean-Russian relations.”

If you are interested in seeing all this in action, you can view the index here, on Amazon, using the Look Inside feature.

The number one goal for main headings is that they be clear. A confused reader is less likely to find what they are looking for. But while keeping clarity in mind, you can also play with main headings to better match the discussions in the book. Some subjects and relationships are more complicated, and a longer, multi-part main heading may be the clearest and best option.

Article
May 9, 2023
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by Stephen

Is Over-Indexing Really a Time-Saving Strategy

I’ve been thinking about a piece of common sense advice that I was reminded of a few months ago. You may have heard it too. It goes like this: on your first pass through the book, pick up more than is necessary, because it is quicker to go back and trim than to go back and pick up a second time.

The assumption is that reading the text and picking up entries is time-consuming. Which is true. Carefully reading the book and selecting terms does take time. Also assumed is that you may not know, on the first pass, what is indexable and what can be left. Which is also true. By picking up an abundance of entries, all bases are covered. But is over-indexing and then trimming the extraneous entries really a faster approach?

To some extent, yes. I certainly pick up entries knowing that they may not make the final cut. But I still try to choose entries within certain parameters. This advice can get you into trouble when you have no filters (or very few filters) in place.

Consider this scenario, which I have seen and done myself earlier in my career: You get a book to index and the publisher informs you that the index can be no longer than 700 lines. Which sounds like a lot. Excited to start, and worried about missing relevant discussions, you jump into the project, typing up whatever entry seems like it might mean something to someone. Finishing the full draft, you realize that the index is pushing 1,000 lines. Or 1,500 lines. Or maybe even 2,000 lines. Now what?

Trimming an index that is a little longer than it should be usually isn’t a problem and is part of the indexing process. By definition, rough drafts need to be tidied. There are entries that aren’t as important as they originally appeared, or entries that can be combined into one, or subheadings that can be removed. But an index significantly longer than the target length requires more than a trim. It requires deep cuts. Chances are, whole categories of entries need to be removed and the index structure needs to be simplified. Not only has time been spent creating all of those entries, but time will now have to be spent figuring out how to get rid of all those entries. There is also the emotional pain of having to sweep away all that you created.

It is not efficient or effective.

What I try to do instead, before I start the rough draft, is to think about what needs to be in the index. I think about the subject matter and the arguments or stories that the book is telling. I think about who might be reading the book. I think about what kind of book it is, and how readers will use the index. If there is a length limit, I think about how much space there is relative to the number of pages and to how densely the book is written, and I then try to gauge how detailed the index can be. With all of that in mind, I can more easily identify and filter out passing mentions as I read the book. This approach is not perfect—I often still come across potential entries that I am uncertain about, and I may still go back and pick up entries that I have missed—but having a plan means that my rough drafts are closer to being completed. When editing, I can focus on polishing, rather than cutting and rebuilding.

This approach works both when there is a firm length limit, and when there is no limit to how long the index can be. Just because there is unlimited space does not mean that everything is now relevant to the reader. Think ahead about what the audience needs, and filter the text through that lens.

Besides planning ahead, what else can you do to avoid over-indexing getting out of control?

  • Partway through writing the rough draft, stop and assess the number of entries so far. Is the number proportional to how much space is available in the index and/or to how many pages indexed? Being a little over is okay; some trimming is normal. But if you are only halfway through the book and the rough draft is hitting the line limit, then you probably have an over-indexing problem. Stop, think again about what is important to include and what can be excluded, assess and do a preliminary cut of entries so far, and then finish the rest of the rough draft with some new filters in place.
    ​
  • Try running a quick search to see how often a term or name shows up, especially if you are unsure if it is worth including. If it is only mentioned once, then it may not be important. If mentioned multiple times, then probably worth including. But be careful: number of mentions should not be the only criteria for including in the index. The quality of the discussion is also important.
    ​
  • Try using some sort of label or symbol to mark entries that you are unsure about. In Cindex, I can label entries with different colors, and I use red to indicate entries that I may want to cut. These are entries that I am on the fence about—I’ll still pick up so I don’t have to go back later, but I also want to make them easy to identify and delete. Whatever you use to label, remember to remove so that it doesn’t make its way into the printed index.
    ​
  • Practice. Indexing is a skill that takes time to develop. It may take several indexes to figure out how to effectively plan ahead, and how to recognize and filter out passing mentions. And that’s okay. Keep working on it with each index, and you will gradually get the hang of it.

Writing an index is hard work. We can use all the hacks and shortcuts we can get. And that’s what common sense advice is—a way to make indexing easier and hopefully faster. The problem though, is that common sense advice usually doesn’t come with instructions for how best to implement that advice. Used the wrong way, and the advice may end up creating more work.

So yes, over-index, but within limits. Assume that the index will need to be trimmed and that some entries may not make the final draft, but still think carefully about what to include on the first pass. The cleaner the rough draft, the easier and quicker editing will be. Which is the most efficient way to index.