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… Read More »Marketing and Building a Client Base, My Two Golden Rules
I think every indexer will, at some point, experience a baptism by fire from updating a previously written index. It is tedious. It is time-consuming. It is mental gymnastics trying to get into the mind of the original indexer and trying to figure out what has changed. My first freelance… Read More »Updating an Index: Worth It or Not Worth It?
When I first began to freelance, I did not know how to set a price for my work. Instead of being proactive, I accepted what my first few clients offered me, as what they offered seemed fair, I had no prices for comparison, and I was simply thrilled to receive… Read More »How to Set Prices that Sell and Earn Profit
Last week in my recap of the Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation conference I alluded to business change, which is a difficult subject to write about. Change is inherently disruptive, as it usually involves some kind of ending as well as a new beginning. Change also affects the web… Read More »Business Changes Ahead
I laughed when I first came up with the title for this blog post. It was a laugh at how absurd the title sounded, and also a laugh of recognition. Suddenly this issue was starting to crystallize into words. Work seems so innocuous, being something we do everyday. How can… Read More »Should Freelance Work Come with Trigger Warnings?
I have been reminding myself recently to not get frustrated over my slow progress writing fiction. It has been a dream of mine since I was a kid to be a writer. In grade four I managed to turn a two-page story assignment into an epic that was at least… Read More »Mastery Before Speed
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
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