Article
February 8, 2019
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by Stephen

Indexing as Deep Work

Photo by Nathan Ziemanski on Unsplash

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 book on this topic, it struck me that indexing is ideally suited for deep work. Especially as I work as a full-time indexer, with often a handful of deadlines in a month, I need to spend several hours every day, sitting at my computer, indexing. I need to be able to see, understand, and hold in my mind both the overarching argument or structure of the book (as well as the overarching structure of the index) as well as the smaller details that flesh out that argument and structure. I am creating a document from scratch that to some extent is unique to me, in that other indexers would write their own variations. And the index will, I hope, add value to the book and for readers. It is not something that is easy to replicate. 

Newport identifies shallow work as being the opposite of deep work. This is work that is low value, non-cognitively demanding, and easily done by someone else. The trick, to reach professional goals or to simply stay on top of deadlines, is to focus on performing deep work—what does drive value—and to minimize or eliminate shallow work. 

I think this distinction between deep and shallow work also applies to indexing, and is highlighted by the contract nature of freelancing. Being a freelancer gives me a lot of freedom in how I use my time—which can be used poorly to read the news or watch Youtube videos. It also means that I need to be aware of and responsive to my email inbox, both for new project offers and to be responsive to existing clients. I would say this is all shallow work, because while I do need to communicate with clients and have a method for accepting new projects, I don’t get paid for checking email. While I do need some breaks throughout the day when I index, news and Youtube can serve as distractions and prove to be less effective as breaks if they are taking me away from indexing. While shallow work is not necessary bad, if we do not prioritize deep work and find ways to keep shallow work at bay during those times, then deep work is unlikely to happen.

So how to prioritize deep work?

Newport’s book has challenged me to rethink how I work. In particular, what are my distractions and how do I handle them? Distractions, even ones that seem fairly innocuous, pull you out of a state of concentration and it can take several minutes to return to the task at hand. This happening once isn’t too bad, but if it is repeated throughout the day those minutes can add up. In my experience, distractions also build upon each other. If I follow that sudden urge to check a fact on Wikipedia, I am likely to have subsequent sudden urges that will be harder to resist. I find distractions can also cause a lot of stress and anxiety, because while a part of me is enjoying the distraction, another part is aware that I am falling behind on the task I should be focused on, which creates a vicious cycle. The more anxious I become the more I seek distractions to sooth the anxiety.

As I have come to realize, the costs to the quality of the indexes I write, how quickly I can index, and the stress I inflict on myself through distractions are too high. At least, I do not want to pay them anymore. I know I can’t eliminate every single distraction, but I can do a lot to eliminate most of them, at least the ones that are self-inflicted. 

So far, I’ve come up with a few strategies to better facilitate deep work. Here are three of them:

  • I use the Freedom app to block myself from most news sites and blogs that I typically frequent. The only day I allow myself to browse these sites are Sundays. I have a different block for social media. This does not work perfectly as there are, of course, other news sites and blogs that I have not yet discovered (and which I subsequently have to block), but overall I do feel much more focused and less anxious. And to be honest, I find I don’t really miss the news. I still get a general sense of what is happening in the world from talking to other people and hearing snippets on the radio, and I have enough interesting things to focus on among my own work.
  • I have stopped checking email in the mornings, and I try to only check email twice in the afternoon. I have been surprised at the results. I have come to value my distraction-free mornings, which is when I can create my best and most important work. So far clients have not noticed or commented on slower replies.
  • I take a long break in the middle of the day. I go to the local YMCA, and depending on the day I either join a circuit training class or I swim. I also eat lunch. All of this takes about an hour and a half. What makes this work is that if I get out of bed on time, I have three hours of deep work in the morning, and then another three and a half hours of deep work in the afternoon. The exercise gives me a chance to rest my brain and recharge for the afternoon session.

These new habits do, I realize, introduce some inconveniences for myself and others. I am not likely to reply immediately to an email. There have been times my wife has forwarded me an interesting news article which I cannot read because of the internet blocks I have in place. Last Sunday, I was surprised to learn that the Super Bowl was happening, and realized I had completely missed the buildup. 

I think the trade-offs are worth it, though. If my clients are hiring me to index, and if indexing requires long periods of concentration, and if I want to produce quality indexes while also preserving time for rest in the evenings and on weekends, then I need to structure my workday and put safeguards in place to make sure that indexing happens in the scheduled hours. I wish I could say that I did not need these safeguards, but I have come to realize that I do. 

The questions are fairly simple: What are my priorities? How do I create lasting value for myself and for others? What do I need to do to make sure these happen?

Article
January 8, 2019
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by Stephen

Making Friends with My Calendar

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

Happy New Year! 

I hope your holiday festivities were heart-warming and restorative. My wife and I started ours with our car dying the night before we planned to hit the road, though the holidays did get better from there and we are thankful for a few days with family. 

I don’t usually make New Year resolutions. I think that is largely due to a fear of failure, and of not knowing how to actually implement these goals and aspirations. Change is hard. But I have been thinking recently: if there is one thing I could change this year that would have a significant impact on my life, what would that be? I have decided that that one thing is to make friends with my calendar.

What do I mean by that? Why do I often feel like my calendar is my enemy, or at least a puzzle that is impossible to decipher? There are a number of reasons. Especially as my business has grown in the last few years, I have often felt like my schedule controls me. I feel like I need to work on evenings and weekends in order to meet deadlines, which means making trade-offs with other activities that are also meaningful. I realize this may not be so much a scheduling problem so much as an I’m-accepting-too-much-work kind of problem, but either way it boils down to feeling out of control and overwhelmed.

The problem goes deeper, however, as I have struggled with setting schedules for myself since university. This seems counterintuitive, as I actually thrive on routine. And therein lies the problem, I think. My tendency, when I devise a schedule for myself, is to stick to it as rigidly as possible. Interruptions or other unplanned changes cause me to panic and get disoriented, and eventually I abandon the schedule for a more reactive, and stressful, mode of being. I seem to be in a bind where not having a schedule is not serving me well, yet my typical approach to scheduling and calendars is also not serving me well. I need to find a better way. 

So how do I become friends with my calendar? I mentioned this resolution to my wife, and she astutely pointed out that it is quite an abstract goal. 

I agree with her, and I am okay with that. I am realizing that my relationship to my calendar and schedule is multi-faceted. There is coming to terms with my years of fears, anxieties, and frustrations with schedules. There is learning how to productively handle changes within a schedule. There is finding a scheduling framework that seems to work for me. There is understanding my own biorhythms so that I am working with myself, rather than trying to cram myself into an artificial construct. All of this will take time to figure out and understand.

One book I have read recently is Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day, by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. What I appreciate so much about their book, compared to some others I have read about calendars and schedules, is their acknowledgement that everyone is different. They offer eighty-seven tactics to try, but fundamentally their approach is to experiment and be reflective about what works and what doesn’t. I found it incredibly freeing to realize that I don’t need to have the perfect schedule right away, but I can take time to develop it, and that setbacks along the way are part of the process. Indeed, as I age and other life events happen, my schedule will probably continue to evolve. 

The book also discusses a scheduling technique from Cal Newport, who wrote the book Deep Work. In this technique, you write a new schedule for yourself every day, and leave room to revise the schedule as needed. This provides a mechanism—which I have been sorely missing—to thoughtfully acknowledge that change can and will happen, and to recognize that the remaining time can still be reallocated and used productively. I’ve been trying this for a week now, and it has been a helpful tool for reflection. I have handled interruptions better, and on the flip side, it has also helped me stick to my schedule when I’ve been tempted to change for no good reason. 

Another new initiative I’ve been using for about six weeks now is to put up white board wall stickers in my work space. This has been a fantastic change for me. I think I am still learning just how tactile and visually-oriented I am, as I am enjoying both seeing my work on the wall and the physical labour of writing, crossing out, and erasing. Borrowing the concept of sprints and burndown charts from a book I indexed, I list all of my current projects for a two-week period so I have the constant visual reminder of what I need to accomplish. I also graph my progress each day, so I can see where I am with each project. The whiteboard is also a great space to brainstorm, to write notes, and to make lists. I use it every day.

I already have some ideas for what else I want to try this year to become more comfortable with my calendar. I am happy with some of the results so far, and I am sure more ideas will come up as I experiment and reflect. I am hopeful that 2019 will be the year I finally get a handle on my schedule. I wish you all the best in your endeavours this year too.

What are some of the ways or resources you use to keep your calendar in order?

Article
December 9, 2018
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by Stephen

Book Review: Indexing Children’s Books

I recently indexed a book for children, which is a departure from my usual work. Making the project even more unique, the book was adapted from the original adult version, which I indexed a couple of years ago. I believe the book sold quite well, and hopefully this children’s version does too. It is a book about trees.

I haven’t indexed for children before, but I knew enough, from what other indexers have said, to know that some of the conventions and best practices are different. Learning to use an index is an acquired skill, which children may not have yet. Fortunately, I have on my bookshelf a slim booklet, Indexing Children’s Books, by K.G.B Bakewell and Paula L. Williams. It was published in the UK by the Society of Indexers in 2000, and is still available for purchase on the SI website. I bought the book a few years ago, when I first started to index, but I don’t think I’ve read it until now. It has proven to be an excellent resource, though. I am glad I had it handy.

The book, only 66 pages, is mostly based on a study that the authors conducted in 1997 with indexers, librarians, parents, publishers, and teachers. An additional two studies were conducted with students, ranging from what we would say in North America is elementary to high school. The book discusses both the findings of these studies—how indexes are actually commissioned and made and how children actually use the indexes—as well as how indexes should be made for children. It was quite interesting to see some of the discrepancies between what is done and what should be done, and examples of both poor and good indexing practices.

The core message is that indexes need to be easy to use. Arguably, this should be true for all indexes, including for adults, but especially for children, who may not understand how to use an index or who may be very slow in their use, being slow with spelling or alphabetization, for example. The child should be able to use the index without getting discouraged and giving up. 

One key recommendation is to use language that the children would use, which would often be simpler terms, as well as terms that may not be obvious for an adult. In a way, this is an impossible task, because how can you anticipate all of the possible search terms a user might think of? In one example given in the book, children were asked to suggest alternative keywords for the word “ice.” Terms the children suggested included water, cold, winter, icy, frost, hard, and ice cream. From an adult perspective, some of these are clearly not synonymous with ice, nor are they all good index terms as some are descriptive (terms are usually nouns), and it is unlikely there would be space in the index anyway for all these alternative terms. Still, it is a good reminder that children often approach keywords differently from adults. The indexer should consider using a variety of terms to anticipate the different ways that children might search. Multiple entry points are a must. It can also be helpful to include both general and specific terms. A reader might look under “dogs” to find information about golden retrievers, for example, and might give up if they can’t find relevant information, so double-posting is important.

Other recommendations I thought helpful included limiting the use of subheadings and cross-references (potentially confusing), as well as the use of long strings of locators (too discouraging). Passing mentions should be avoided as being discouraging and a waste of time (which is good practice anyway). Another recommendation I found really interesting was to include an introductory note explaining how to use the index. In a addition to the index as a finding aid, this turns the index into a teaching tool as well. The book also recommended a larger font size for ease of use, and had other suggestions for an inviting and readable layout. This makes the good point that an index is not simply a collection of words and numbers, or terms and locators, that direct people to information. Good design is also important for a successful index that people will want to use.

Beyond the recommendations for writing indexes and the discussions on how children actually use indexes, there were a few sections I found less useful. Parts of the book were clearly aimed at publishers, to encourage them to incorporate best practices into how they commission indexes. That is important, of course, though I am not the target audience for that. There was also a chapter discussing the National Curriculum in England and Wales, and how it relates to indexes. As someone from Canada, this was not relevant to me at all, and I wonder how up to date it is, as the book is almost twenty years old. Still, these are minor quibbles, and the book is an excellent, clearly written resource. I highly recommend it if you want to index for children. I think it’s insights definitely improved the index that I just wrote.

Article
October 28, 2018
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by Stephen

Freelance Anniversary Reflections

Photo by picjumbo.com from Pexels

This is my sixth anniversary as a freelance indexer! It was the end of October, 2012, that I left my job at Harbour Publishing and moved back to Vancouver with the intention to work for myself. That first year I received only a few projects, which I have to admit I used as an opportunity to travel. Since I have started, though, I have worked on (or will, once I finish what is currently on my desktop) 224 projects. Work certainly picked up, especially starting my third year. I don’t have an exact count of books indexed, but including books from when I worked in-house, I think I am somewhere in the range of 210-230 indexes written. Someday it would be really neat to be in a room with all of the books I have worked on. For the most part I work on the computer with digital files, so to see the actual physical product all around me would be amazing.  

I’ve been doing some reflection on my business. When I started, part of the motivation was to see if I could start a viable business. I think I can now say, with the support of all of the publishers, editors, and authors who have entrusted their books to me, that I have. I am thankful for the relationships that I have built with clients and colleagues. It is a great little community that I had no idea existed when I started. 

Recently, I’ve been asking myself, “What’s next?” I don’t see this as a negative question, and for the time being I plan to continue in this work. I think every business changes over time, either in response to the market or due to changes in the people working in the business. I know I have definitely changed in the last few years. Some of my reasons for freelancing have either been fulfilled or are no longer applicable, which I think is worth reflecting on. I have also been feeling like the pace I have been working at over the last few months is unsustainable. Being a one-person business, I am not doing myself, or my clients, a favour if I burn out. 

I have decided to take January and maybe February (I’ll see how I feel when I get there) off as a sabbatical. I am a bit nervous as I have never done this before. This is not intended to be a holiday, and for the most part I will stay in Edmonton. I am still working on the details, but I hope to use the time for a mixture of rest; reflection and strategizing for the next few years, both in business and in life (which are very much intertwined, especially as a freelancer); and to get caught up on some projects and tasks I’ve been neglecting. I hope to emerge with a renewed sense of purpose and a more sustainable approach to work and life. I see the sabbatical as an opportunity to grow.

I am sure that I will have more to write later on the sabbatical, as I continue to prepare and then once I’ve completed it. For now, I am looking forward to it. It does feel like the right time. When indexing, it is easy to get caught up in the small details of each project and to not see the big picture of my business and life. I look forward to taking a step back and getting a sense for what the next six years might look like.

Article
September 22, 2018
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by Stephen

Indexing Fiction: The Lord of the Rings

Happy Hobbit Day!

September 22 is apparently the shared birthday of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. I wonder how old they would be.

Today is also a good excuse to examine the index for the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy. I was quite surprised to notice, a couple of years ago, that my omnibus edition has an index. Thanks to a comment from a colleague, I have learned that the box set also comes with an index, or at least some of the box sets do. 

To back up a moment, and briefly recap, last month I reviewed an online index for The Wheel of Time series. The indexing issues I raised for fiction included spoilers, the scope of the index, locators, and differentiation, for example if the reader has forgotten which is a person, place, or thing. I will not repeat my full discussion of these issues in this blog post, but I will be examining this index with those issues in mind. So, on to the LOTR’s index.

I am curious to know when this index was originally written. My omnibus edition is from 1995, though the copyright page states that the three volumes were first published together in 1968. Does the index extend that far back? I was able to find a copy of the index in a box set on Amazon, using their Look Inside feature. That version is from a mass market paperback edition from Del Ray, apparently from 1986. I do not know if that index is the one reproduced in other box sets as well. In any case, the two indexes are extremely similar. The box set edition appears to have been shortened, which I think makes it less comprehensive and useful, but otherwise I am willing to believe that it is simply a shortened version of the original. In this review, I will mostly be commenting on the longer version found in the omnibus edition.

The index itself is actually a set of four indexes. There is an index for songs and verses; persons, beasts, and monsters; places; and things. There is a fifth section in the box set, with the title of “Supplement: Persons, Places and Things appearing only in Songs and Poems,” only a page long. I am not sure why this fifth index is included, as it is very specific. What audience or need is it seeking to meet? Otherwise, I think splitting the index is a helpful decision on the part of the indexer. It directly addresses the issue of differentiation, and of informing readers what kind of entry they are looking at. Splitting the index also means that each section is not too long, which I think also makes the index easier to search. 

Splitting the index also speaks to the scope of the index, which is what does the index cover. Related to scope is also the use, or not, of subheadings, which also leads to the issue of spoilers. Can we get a sense of the story from the index entries? In this index, the focus of the index is on the tangible. As far as I can tell, there are no conceptual entries, nor do the entries give a sense of plot. There are a few subheadings, but they are mostly of alternative names or terms, such as “the Grey” or “Stormcrow” for Gandalf. I am glad that these alternative terms are included so that the reader can find all of the relevant entries (and I noticed that several of them were removed in the box set edition), but these don’t tell us much about the character, place, or thing. 

Also on scope—and an aspect of this index that I find frustrating—is that the index does not attempt to be comprehensive. The places index, in particular, has a headnote explaining that in most cases only the first mention is indexed, except for where the indexer thought there were other significant mentions. In the box set edition, the headnote actually admits, “This [index] is rather more arbitrary than the last.” The headnote for the persons, beasts, and monsters index simply tells us that “references are selective” (though this headnote is missing from the box set). Still, there are far more locators in the persons index than for places, giving me some confidence that I will at least find all of the major scenes or chapters for a character. I do not know why the same was not done for places. For the things index, there is no headnote, and relatively few locators. This is also the section that appears to have been shortened the most between the two editions. The songs and verses index is short, split between first lines and titles, and seems comprehensive. Overall, it seems like each section was given different treatment, without a lot of explanation to the reader as to why. This makes me doubt the usefulness and reliability of the index. Can I trust that I am being directed to all of the relevant entries? Part of the indexing process is determining what is relevant for the reader, especially if there is a space constraint, so I do not want to fault the indexer for making decisions that we all have to make. In the absence of more information, though, the discrepancies do seem arbitrary, which is not the impression that an index should give.

The locators are also worth commenting on. With no subheadings to indicate plot, there are long strings of undifferentiated locators. These are usually not ideal, but given that this index is trying to avoid spoilers and is only trying to direct readers to the relevant pages, I think the undifferentiated locators are understandable.

 One aspect I found interesting were the extremely long page ranges for main characters. Locators for Frodo, for example, included 21-145 passim, 148-86 passim, 190-209 passim. The term passim, not commonly used, is meant to indicate that the subject is discussed throughout the range, but not necessarily on every page or in a continuous discussion. I think the use here is unnecessary as the reader will probably figure that out from the ranges. Still, these ranges are an interesting solution for how to index main characters who are the focus of the book. The ranges allow those entries to be relatively short, compared to how much of the book the locators cover. 

The locators also, of course, have to be changed for the different editions. For the box set, the index seems to only appear in the third book, The Return of the King, and locators include the volume number, so readers know which book in the trilogy to refer back to. I see value in having the (mostly) same index across all editions, so readers will find the same kinds of information regardless of the edition they are using. It must be a tedious task, though, for whoever given the job of adjusting the locators for each new edition. 

All in all, I think that the LOTR index is decent. Its best feature is having separate indexes for the different types of content. The part of me that likes to be organized and thorough wishes that the index was more comprehensive, in both entries and number of references picked up. At the very least, a longer headnote would be helpful to explain the differences between the sections and what we can expect to find. I also wonder how this index would be different if the plot was at least hinted at, but I respect the decision to not include spoilers. For the reader, I think this index is certainly a vast improvement over having no index, and I am grateful for whoever had the foresight to create it and to keep it in publication.

 My apologies for irregular blogging over the last couple of months. I have had a lot of work this summer, which is continuing into the fall. More to the point, I’ve been away for about a week for each of the last two months, and I have another trip planned starting next week. I don’t usually stagger my holidays like this, and while I have enjoyed the people and places my wife and I have visited, I have also found it difficult to maintain routines in this pattern of intense periods of work interspersed by travel. I look forward to returning to a more settled schedule, including more blogging, when I return in October. 

Article
August 26, 2018
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by Stephen

Indexing Institutional Histories: A Case Study

This last week I finished the index for a large institutional history, 550 pages, including endnotes. It was one of the more challenging books I have indexed. I will not yet reveal the name of the institution, or the title or author, as the book is not yet published, but I am still interested in exploring what made this project unique while it is fresh in my mind. You see, while the institution described is currently a single entity, the book actually discussed three institutions. Let’s call them the museum, the archives, and the library.

The first set of intertwined institutions are the museum and archives. About fifteen years ago they were formally amalgamated, and so they are, now, a single entity while retaining their distinctive spheres. For most of their history, though, going back 100+ years, they were separate institutions, yet often shared the same building. So in a sense this book is really a story of parallel, yet conjoined, histories. Part of my job, as the indexer, was to reflect both histories in the index, and to make it clear when each was being discussed.

The second set of intertwined institutions are the library and the archives. The library was actually established first, before the archives, and part of its mandate was to collect archival records. A few years later the archives were created as a separate entity, and yet for decades not only did the two share a building (with the museum), but they also shared a single administration. The head archivist was concurrently the head librarian. This mixing of roles continued until separate administrators were finally appointed, and until the archives moved out, with the museum, into a new building. At that point the library drops out of this particular story. Yet the library still needed to be addressed in the index. Its presence added yet another level of complexity, made even more so as it was often not clearly differentiated from the archives. The text usually treated both as a single entity, with a focus on archival work, probably because the same staff were involved in both. Because of that, while I had separate main entries for each, for when the difference was clear, I also tended to assume, when the difference was not clear, that the archival side was being discussed.

A temptation for this kind of book is to essentially write two, possibly three, separate indexes, one for each institution. In practice, because separate indexes are not very practical, this would probably look like massive entries for each within a single index, in which the whole history of each institution is clearly delineated. I don’t think that this approach works either. Overly large entries, with long lists of subheadings, or even multiple levels of subheadings, are often difficult to read. This also relates to the concept of the metatopic—the overarching topic of the book to which everything in the book relates. While I take the view that the metatopic should be present in the index as a starting point for the reader—in this case, the metatopics would be the museum and archives—I also agree that the information which form the metatopic should be broken down into their different components and scattered throughout the index to give the reader smaller chunks of information to digest. 

That still leaves the question, though, of how to differentiate between information that is related to the museum and information that is related to the archives and library. Ideally, if the reader is only interested in one institution or the other, the reader should know which they are getting. My overall strategy was to be clear in the language I used. I also dealt with this on a case-by-case basis, as I was afraid that if I was too rigid following a particular strategy or formula, I would end up with too much repetition between the entries, and an index that was longer than necessary. To give a few examples…

There were a number of areas in which both the museum and the archives had similar programs or issues. Both, for example, published books, reports, and magazines or journals. In order to differentiate, I decided to have parallel entries of,

publishing program, archives 

publishing program, museum

Other topics, I felt, did not make sense to differentiate, either because the same issues applied to both, or because it was primarily only one institution that dealt with that issue. An example would be the buildings these institutions occupied, which in most instances were shared. Another instance was finances, a lot of which were about government budget cuts which affected both equally. I thought that I would have a lot of duplication if I had separate entries, which seemed to me to add limited value. 

In these cases, I also sometimes use subheadings to highlight one or both institutions where it made sense to do so. This would usually be a situation in which the entry was primarily about one institution, but for which there were a couple of locators for the other as well. For example, exhibitions and displays was almost entirely about the museum, as I think most people would expect. Yet the archives had a small gallery that was also referenced a couple of times, so “in archives” became a subheading. For the entry for collections, which was about collections in general with numerous cross-references to specific collections, most of the subheadings were applicable to both institutions, but I also had the following two subheadings for the one instance I thought differentiation made sense:

collection policy for archives

collection policy for museum

Another issue was how to differentiate the staff, particularly the administrators who tended to have the most lengthy entries. I decided that I would not try to differentiate staff who did not have enough entries to merit subheadings, but for staff with subheadings, I tried to insert the term museum or archives somewhere near the top of the entry. This usually meant a subheading along the lines of,

appointment and departure from archives and library

This usually sorted to be the first or second subheading in the entry, which I hope will help orient readers to where this person worked, and what kind of information they can expect from this entry. I think this is preferable to giving no clue, and leaving the reader to possibly waste time on the wrong person.

All told, this was quite a dense text, though well-written. I did find the book interesting, especially as I have done some research myself at this particular archive. Now that I understand its history and collection better, I kind of want to return, though I don’t know what I would research. The index was also quite the challenge. I hope that the decisions I made make sense, especially to the readers who will be using it.

Article
August 13, 2018
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by Stephen

Indexing Fiction: The Wheel of Time Case Study

Indexes for fiction seems to be a recurring topic among indexers. I do not know of anyone who has actually written an index like this, but we sure like to talk about it. Someone recently raised the issue again on one of the indexing email lists, and it just so happened that shortly before that exchange, I found an online index for the fourteen-volume fantasy series by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, The Wheel of Time, which is one of my favourite fantasy series.

So, here are some thoughts to join the conversation, first on indexing fiction, in general, and then on The Wheel of Time index specifically.

Issues in Indexing Fiction

One of the biggest concerns in indexing fiction is spoilers. How much of the plot should be revealed? Should the ending be included, even if buried in a subheading? Or should nothing about the plot be revealed, with the index consisting of  undifferentiated locators (no subheadings) for people, places, and things?

To help discern an answer, we should consider who is most likely to use the index. Is it a new reader or is it a repeat reader? Repeat readers may actually want spoilers, because they already know what happens anyway, and they may be searching the index for specific information or scenes that they recall, which would require a fairly detailed index. 

I think it is also helpful to consider other supplementary material that can accompany fiction, like wikis and companion books. For The Wheel of Time, the “A Wheel of Time Wiki” has on its home page the following statement: “This wiki contains spoilers for all books in the series! Read articles at your own risk.” The Wheel of Time Companion: The People, Places, and History of the Bestselling Series, also states in its introduction that the book contains spoilers. It seems reasonable to say that spoilers are inevitable, and often expected, in supplementary material, including, I would say, indexes. A certain amount of information needs to be included in order for that resource to serve its purpose. Perhaps spoilers are not as big an issue as we may think, though again, this circles back to the purpose of the index and its audience.

A related issue, focusing on the index content, is the scope of the index. Should the focus be solely on people, places, and things? What about the culture, technology, or social issues described in the book? Should major themes be picked up? Should the index attempt to break down the plot, or follow character arcs? Should subheadings be used, which can facilitate breaking down the story, or should locators be undifferentiated, which could lead to long strings of page numbers but at least the plot is safely hidden. In writing the index, of course, the book should not be rewritten, but I think that there are still degrees of complexity and scope that can be considered. A good novel should be multifaceted and immersive. Should the index be similar?

The last main issue that comes to mind is that of locators. Fiction, especially popular fiction, can often be reprinted in multiple editions over time. Which edition should the index be keyed to, or will the index have to be adjusted for each edition? If the index is for a series, like The Wheel of Time, for which I think an index would be most useful, there is the added question of how will the index be published? Will it be a standalone volume? Published online? This logistical issue is not insurmountable, but it should be considered from the outset.

The Wheel of Time Index

I have actually thought about an index for The Wheel of Time for many years, though partly for the issues outlined above and partly for lack of time and pay I have not followed through on the idea. So I am really excited to find this online index, which you can view here. It is part of the larger website Encyclopedia WoT, which is one of several fan-created The Wheel of Time websites. 

As you can see when you browse the main page, the main headings focus on people, places, and things. There are a few concepts, such as agelessness and channelling, which are specific to the world, but otherwise conceptual entries are not included. Still, given the parameters I am impressed by how thorough the term selection is. Even characters and places with very minor references are included. 

Interestingly, names are not inverted and are alphabetically sorted by first name. Perhaps readers are more familiar with first names than last? A more serious issue, I think, is that terms are not differentiated or explained. There are a few instances of two minor characters having the same name but no indication of which entry is for which. There are also a lot of terms which I simply do not recognize, probably because it has been a few years since I have read most of the books, and probably because some of these references are quite minor. I think simple glosses would be helpful. For example:

hedgehog (ter’angreal)

Mehar (Saldaean town)

Sarand (Andoran noble house)

Glosses like these would make the index much easier to browse. In its current state, the index requires the user to recognize all of the terms and to already know what they want to find, while glosses would make searching easier for the casual browser. 

My last critique about the main headings is the lack of cross-references. This lack is particularly noticeable as some of the entries do not have their own page. For example, the entry for Mondel Gate automatically redirects to the page for the city of Caemlyn, within which are references to Mondel Gate, but the user has to search for those references. It is not obvious why I was sent to a different page than expected, or where the relevant information is. Some sort of cross-reference could explain where the information actually is or why I am being redirected, and give direction for how to use the index.

The individual entries are also quite interesting, and show how much more information can be included in an online index compared to a back-of-the-book index. The entries definitely contain spoilers, as they contain extensive information about what the reader can find. For example, the following subheadings, we will call them, appear in the entry for Basel Gill:

Gill is very upset that Maighdin has disappeared.

Gill and his companions reach the Jehannah Road. Travelers report that the way north is impassable so they head east.

Rand tries to remember what Gill told him about Galad.

Elyas scouts the Whitecloak camp and recognizes Gill. Perrin begins planning how to free them.

The information provided is split into a number of different sections. The first is a brief explanation of the entry, such as this one for Basel Gill: “The innkeeper of The Queen’s Blessing in Caemlyn”. If the entry is a person, there is usually then a physical description, including locators for where the person is described. Next is a list of actions and events the character appears in, in chronological order, followed by other mentions. 

Entries for places, things, and groups follow a similar structure, and may also include a list of related entries (a form of cross-reference), such as everyone mentioned from a particular village.

As mentioned, a lot of information, in sentence format, is given in the description for each locator. The entries also appear to be in chronological order, so similar entries are not grouped together. While this means that readers have to search to find the specific information they want, the entry does provide a comprehensive overview. 

I find the locators to be one of the most interesting aspects of this index. The locators bypass the issue of which edition of the series to use by linking to chapter summaries instead of page numbers. This provides context for the entries, but if the reader still wants to find the specific mention, they will have to reread the chapter. Perhaps this is why so much description is given within each entry, as the chapter summaries are fairly brief. This makes the entries, in a way, more important than the locators. Still, I think this is quite an ingenious solution.

In addition to the index, at the top of each page there are a number of links to pages on each of the books, history, geography, characters, items, etc… Some of the information listed in these pages overlaps with the index, while others, such as history and geography, in a way serve as conceptual entries, gathering together relevant subheadings. The index is integrated into the larger website, blurring the lines between the website as a whole and the page that is formally labeled “Index.”

All in all, I am very impressed by this index for The Wheel of Time. I cannot imagine how much work must have gone into its creation. I think there are some ways to make the index easier to search and use, and more could be done to expand into more conceptual entries, but these are fairly minor quibbles compared to what this index actually does achieve. This is a fantastic resource for fans. I wish that similar indexes were available for other series as well.

Article
July 25, 2018
2 comments
by Stephen

Holidays, and the Fear of Missing Out

Photo by Simon Migaj from Pexels

I am entering the final stretch of scrambling to wrap up projects before I leave tomorrow for a week-long holiday. I have yet to manage a smooth transition from work to holiday. Somehow I just cannot seem to finish projects until the very last minute. Sometimes I end up taking the project on the airplane to finish. This trip, though, I am driving, so double incentive to finish before I go.

At least I have a week away to look forward to.  

As a freelancer, I have often heard people voice a fear of going on holiday, which is really a fear of being out of contact should a potential job come knocking. I have also felt this fear before, especially as a new freelancer when work was sparse. At that stage of one’s career, every job can feel like a big opportunity, and you don’t want to miss out. It can be hard enough to find work as it is.

In the last couple of years I’ve had the opposite problem. I have had steady work, and it has felt like the only way for me to take time off is if I schedule it in advance and proactively tell clients when I am going to be unavailable. Thankfully, most of my regular clients seem to understand, even if it occasionally means I have to turn down a project. I think I’ve even had a client once ask when my summer holiday was going to be, so they could schedule around it. That is one way to melt your freelancer’s heart.

Being busy as a freelancer is a two-edged sword. As new indexers, it is what we aspire to, if we are trying to derive a living from our work. I find that people often respond, “But that’s a good thing,” when I tell them that work has been busy. Because work equals money, right? At the same time, I have experienced periods of burnout as a freelancer, when I can feel my focus, intellect, and motivation stretched thin. I believe that as humans, we are made for periods of rest, so I have become quite deliberate about taking regular holidays. They are a necessity if I am going to freelance long term. If anything, I think that my clients should be thankful when I go on holiday, because I will probably be a better indexer in the couple of weeks after I get back. 

(Finding and creating periods of rest and margin in everyday life, such as actually taking evenings and weekends off, or whatever time period works best, is a similar issue, and one I still struggle with. It is not quite enough to take a holiday every few months. Smaller breaks are needed between the big breaks.)

Still, as freelancers, planning a holiday can be nerve-wracking. There is the risk that we will miss out on work. It can be hard to schedule if clients are contacting us months in advance with a project, before we  have figured out our own holiday plans. How can we successfully plan and take a holiday without ruining our career?

For me, it starts with making holidays a priority. As I mentioned, I have realized that I need periodic holidays in order to maintain peak indexing condition. I also have family and friends who live far away that I want to see, and I don’t see them if I spend all my time at home working. So while work is still a priority (I still spend most of my time indexing), I also have reasons for taking time off. I have also come to trust that turning down the occasional project is not going to ruin my work schedule or relationships. My regular clients, thankfully, are understanding, and I already have projects that will be waiting for me when I return. 

If you are a newer freelancer, missing out on work is a very understandable concern. I think you can still get in the habit of scheduling holidays. Recognize that you are at a stage in your career when work is likely going to be sparse, regardless of whether you stay at home or go on a holiday. You are not going to be in this stage forever. You may miss out on an opportunity for work by going on holiday, but if going on holiday is a priority, then missing one or two jobs, in the long run, is going to be okay. To be honest, I wish I had established the habit of holidaying earlier, so I could have avoided burning out once work got busy. Early in my career, I did not really know how to say no or how to pace my schedule, which eventually became a problem. 

Once the priority has been set, I find it important to schedule the holiday a couple of months or more in advance. My work schedule is usually booked two months in advance and I do not want to kick clients off my schedule if I have made a prior commitment to them. So for holidays, I find a clear spot on the calendar that is not already occupied, and stake out that space. It is mine, and I am not going to allow a client to take it over. 

The next step is to tell clients. I have been diligent this last month, and especially this last week, reminding clients that I am going to be away and unavailable. Occasionally this means turning down a project (I did turn one down this week). More often, it is a scenario like accepting a project but letting the client know that I will be starting a couple of days after the proofs become available, because I will not be home yet. I think some clients can be amendable to working with your plans so long as they are not surprised at the last minute.

If you are going on a longer trip, say longer than two or three weeks, you can let regular clients know ahead of time and ask if they have upcoming projects they want to schedule for when you return. This can mitigate the scenario of the client trying to contact you while you are away and you being unable to respond. This can also provide some peace of mind, knowing that there will be work waiting for you when you come back. Alternatively, you can contact clients when you return, to let them know that you are open again for business. Either way, you are giving the client some guidance, both about your schedule and about when is the best time to communicate with you. 

The last consideration is, do you stay connected while on holiday? Ideally, to fully disconnect, I do not take my laptop with me, and I do not check email. I instead set up an auto-reply letting people know when I will be back. When I am away, I want to fully engage with my holiday. Occasionally, though, I do need to finish a project in the first couple of days away, or I need my laptop for other reasons, which often leads to checking email every few days. Still, I find it can be so satisfying and refreshing to be free from my devices. To read a paper book instead of the screen. 

On that note, I should get back to work and get my remaining projects sewn up so I can depart tomorrow guilt-free. I hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday too, whenever you take your next.

Article
July 10, 2018
1 comment
by Stephen

Indexing Basics, Reflections on

Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash

Last Saturday I presented my first webinar on indexing, hosted by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. A couple of weeks ago I gave a similar presentation to the Editors Canada twig here in Edmonton. Many thanks to both groups for allowing me to present. I learned a lot, both about presenting and about indexing, as I reflected on my practice. Whoever said that teaching is the best way to learn was right.

As I thought about how to present indexing in under an hour, with time for introductions and questions, two themes kept reappearing.

The first is that indexing is about analysis. What is the text about? You cannot write a good index without understanding the text.

The second is audience. Who is the index for? How will they be using the index? How familiar are they with the subject? Do they typically use indexes? If the index is not written with the audience in mind, the index will also probably be poor.

These two themes are closely linked. I think that indexing can be described as analysis on behalf of the reader. In a way, both the text and the audience needs to be analyzed. As the indexer, we need to do some of the heavy lifting for the reader, so that using the index is a pleasant and easy experience. The index should also help guide the reader to what the text is about.

Ultimately, if the participants in both presentations took nothing else away, I hope they remember analysis and audience. If both are front of mind when indexing, I think the index has a decent chance of succeeding. Everything else is just detail and polish.

To close, I will leave you with my new favourite quote on indexing, from a recent issue of The Indexer (vol. 36 no. 1, March 2018). It is by Mary Coe, an indexer from Australia. I think she really nails what we attempt to do as indexers, bringing together both analysis and the reader, and the risk that we might get it all wrong. This is also what helps to make indexing so satisfying. Mary writes:

“As indexers, we have the very difficult task of putting ourselves in other people’s shoes (or heads). Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we don’t; however, I think it is inherently our job to try.”

Article
July 2, 2018
1 comment
by Stephen

Three Indexing Mind Hacks

Photo by Patrick Perkins on Unsplash

It has so far been a busy summer. That means tight deadlines and renewed thoughts about how to be more efficient in my indexing process. I mean, indexing is tough. It is constant analysis, understanding what the text means and discerning how to make the text accessible to readers. If there is a way to simplify or expedite part of the process, it does make a difference on overall indexing time and cognitive load.

Learning how to effectively use indexing software is one approach that is commonly advocated for becoming more efficient. I agree, and I think there is more that I can learn with the software I use, Cindex. 

As I have written about earlier, practice is essential for becoming a more efficient indexer. I find so much about indexing is understanding the different ways a book can be structured, understanding the different ways an index can be structured and written, and understanding when to go with one approach versus another. For me, at least, the only way I can learn this is by doing, over and over again, and being mindful of what I am doing so that I can learn with each index. I think that I am more efficient now than I was even just a year ago. I hope to continue to improve. 

Recently, though, I have been thinking about three techniques I use. These are all ways to externalize and capture my thoughts so I do not have to keep everything in my mind all at once. 

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is a way to quickly diagram relationships. I find this exercise most helpful for understanding difficult books. There is something about writing down the different components of an argument, and physically drawing lines between them, that boosts clarity. It can also be a way to see if I have captured the full scope of the book in the index, as I compare the mind map, based on the book, to the index. I have been finding it so helpful that I am starting to do a quick mind map for all indexes I write, usually before I start the final edit. It only takes about ten minutes, and it gives me an opportunity to reflect.

There is a website on mind mapping, if you want to learn more. Software is available, both free and for a price. I occasional use Scapple, but honestly, I usually just use a pen and a scrap piece of paper. 

Notes

Another technique I have used for years is keeping notes. I use Notes, a program on my MacBook. I have one note per project, and I simply keep a running list of whatever I want to remember for later. These are often notes about terminology, if I am trying to decide between two or three options. Or these can be questions for the author, or errors that I am finding which I want to share with the client. Sometimes I just free write, in order to understand a concept or a relationship. For some books, I will just have a couple of notes, while for others I’ll end up with a page or two. 

By making a note, I am removing the thought or question from my mind, and I am giving myself permission to move on, knowing that I will be able to come back later and resolve the issue. There is too much thinking going on while indexing to remember every last error I found and question I have, so writing the note down frees up a lot of cognitive space. This is also a recognition that for a lot of issues, I will not know the answer until I have read further in the book and seen how the issue is addressed elsewhere, or perhaps I do need to ask the author. In the meantime, I have to keep working, and making notes that I can refer to later allows me to do that.

Labels and Highlights

Coming back to indexing software, there is a feature in Cindex, the software I use, that I am appreciating more and more as a form of note-taking. This is the ability to label, or highlight, entries. I assume the same can be done in other programs, like Macrex and Sky. 

When I label entries, I am flagging the entry with a colour to remind myself to take action at a later date. I will often use two or three different colours to remind myself of different things. The most common is for an entry I might want to cut. Especially if space is tight for the index, it saves a lot of time at the end to be able to search for the labeled entries and hit delete for all of them. I use a different colour if I think I might want to remove subheadings. Another common reason is for entries I want to revisit, but I am afraid I will forget if it is not labeled. 

As with notes, using labels is about externalizing my thoughts so that I can put that thought away for later.

Working full time as an indexer is often about finding ways to be efficient, so we can maintain a full schedule without burning out. These are three mind hacks that I use to process my thoughts more efficiently, and to focus better without being distracted by a host of other thoughts. If you are an indexer, what techniques do you use? I am curious.