So you are sitting down to write an index. You scroll to the first page in the PDF, or, if you’ve printed out the proofs, you place the first page on the desk in front of you, and then…what? What is your thought process? How do you decide what entries… Read More »Reading Like an Indexer
Living in Canada and regularly working with a number of Canadian presses, I’ve had the privilege, since I’ve begun freelancing, to index several books relating to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. There seems to be a growing trend in Canada to publish books by and about Indigenous Peoples. I’ve also… Read More »Indigenous Terms and Names, Indexing
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.… Read More »Money Advice to Make Freelancing Easier
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… Read More »East Asian Names, Deep Dive
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… Read More »Index Profile: Tracing Complicated Relationships in Main Headings, in The Other Great Game
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?
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
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
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