Welcome to this last reflection in the mini-series on the basic elements of an index! Over the last three months I’ve discussed entries and arrays, main headings and subheadings, locators, cross-references, and format. Today I look at sorting. Sorting and format are like twins. They both have to do with… Read More »Sorting: Putting Entries in Order
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been exploring the components of an array—main headings and subheadings, locators, and cross-references. It’s time to now look at how these are all held together. Formatting the index, by which I mean either run-in or indented format, along with punctuation, has to do with… Read More »Format: Pulling the Index Together
My original plan for today was to write about indexing Oxford University Press (OUP) titles, of which I recently indexed two. I will still reflect on OUP, but as I was writing this, I realized that my main issue with OUP’s system is its impact on cognitive load. So partway… Read More »Cognitive Load and Indexing Oxford UP Titles
Welcome back to this mini-series on the basic elements of an index. I’m currently looking at what makes up an entry, which I described as “what this thing is + where to find it.” In my previous post I discussed main headings and subheadings, which form the first part of… Read More »Pointing Readers in the Right Direction
In my last post I wrote about entries and arrays, which I described as the building blocks of an index. I defined an entry as “what this thing is + where to find it.” Today I’m going to expand on “what this thing is,” also known as main headings and… Read More »Telling Readers What This Thing Is
Last time I wrote about reading like an indexer and what it is I do and look for when reading a text and writing the rough draft of an index. Today I’d like to reflect on my editing process. A few months ago I started tracking my time when I… Read More »My Index Editing Process
Indexers hold great power, more than I think we often realize. Since the index we write will serve as a major entry point into the text for readers, we have a lot of influence over what readers find and how. I first came to this realization a few years ago… Read More »The Power to Reveal and Conceal in an Index
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