Early in my indexing career I indexed a gardening book. In trying to follow the principle of specificity, I decided to create an entry for each tool which was discussed within a brief section on gardening tools. In her review, the client, who was also the managing editor for the… Read More »Choosing Appropriate Depth for an Index
In her book Ten Characteristics of Quality Indexes, Margie Towery recommends taking a nap as a way to boost concentration and attention. Other suggestions include going for a walk, meditation, or yoga. As she puts it, “the trick is to be aware of when your productivity is suffering and then… Read More »Cross-Training for Freelancers
Happy National Indexing Day! This is a celebration started in the UK by the Society of Indexers and is starting to spread around the world. From across the pond in Canada, I thought I would join in the fun too. The question I get the most from non-indexers is, how… Read More »Five Steps to Writing an Excellent Index
A couple of months ago I wrote a free email course on indexing. It provides an overview for how to write an index, from start to finish, as well as pointers for what makes an excellent index. When I first announced this project, I got a few puzzled reactions. One… Read More »Why Hire an Indexer?
I do not check email in the morning. Depending on the day, I either first check around 12:30 pm or 1:30 pm and respond to what I can within half an hour, though I often don’t need that much time. I then check again around 5 or 5:30 pm, though… Read More »Mindful Communication with Clients
Last week I wrote about what I accomplished during my sabbatical. I have also had some people ask how I was able to take the time off, as six weeks, or even four weeks, is a sizeable time commitment as well as lost income. So I want to cover some… Read More »Tips for Taking a Sabbatical
Taking a sabbatical has been one of the best decisions I have made for my business. I am already thinking about doing it again next year. For those of you who don’t know, I recently took nearly six weeks off work, from mid-January to the end of February. I did… Read More »What I Accomplished During My Sabbatical
Ten Characteristics of Quality Indexes: Confessions of an Award-Winning Indexer, by Margie Towery (Medford, NJ: Information Today Inc., 2016) I must confess that while I bought my copy of Margie Towery’s book shortly after it was published, and while I have dipped into it occasionally, I had not actually read… Read More »Book Review: Ten Characteristics of Quality Indexes
The title for this post is, admittedly, tongue in cheek. I am not suggesting that those of us with our own businesses are lazy. It does point towards the reality, though, that it can be so hard to make time, or even know where to start looking, when it comes… Read More »The Lazy Person’s Guide to Business Development
Deep work, as defined by Cal Newport in his book of the same title, is “professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limit. These efforts create new value, improve your skill, and are hard to replicate.” As I was reading Newport’s… Read More »Indexing as Deep Work