Hello, A couple of weeks ago I wrote about fine-tuning the client flywheel, in which I discussed the value of having a diverse client base and considered shifts I may need to make as I grow my business. I received a thoughtful reply (thank you!), which prompted me to think further about the differences between authors and publishers as clients, and of how the two overlap. The specific client mix is going to be different for each indexer. Some indexers work almost exclusively with authors....
21 days ago • 4 min read
Hello, Welcome to another Q&A, on this last Tuesday of the month. Today’s question comes from Winona, and references a previous reflection I wrote. Winona asks: In your post on the subjective side of indexing, you write that two indexers can produce different indexes for the same book, but that there should still be significant overlap because the text’s aboutness remains the same. Is there any practical way to quantify that overlap? For instance, after accounting for defensible differences...
28 days ago • 3 min read
Hello, In some ways, I feel like I am writing today’s reflection to myself. Over this last year I’ve been focused on the business side of my freelance indexing business. Things like tightening up procedures, identifying and tracking metrics, learning to work with subcontractors. This may also mean changing who I work with. I don’t want to change the publishers and authors that I work with. There are a handful of publishers I’ve worked with for almost as long as I’ve been freelancing. I am...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Hello, You’d think after freelancing now for about fifteen years that I’d be better at turning down work that isn’t in my wheelhouse. It is not that I can’t figure out how to index such books; I’ve indexed enough diverse subjects that I kind of think I could index most anything. I hope that isn’t just hubris speaking. I believe there is something to being proficient with the tools of the trade which can cover for a lack of subject expertise. And yet, I am still reminded that subject expertise...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Hello, Welcome back to another Q&A on this last Tuesday of the month. Today’s question is a little different in that it comes from a subcontractor I work with. The question was asked in response to a specific piece of advice that I gave for a previous project we worked on together. My thanks for asking and for suggesting this might be a good fit for a Q&A. With some modification to remove references to the specific project and so that the question is more broadly applicable: How do you know...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hello, What is required to write an excellent index? I mean, what does it actually take? Indexing is governed by a lot of rules and conventions. Every indexer, including myself, tend to have their favorite strategies and style preferences. These are important for shaping and refining the index. But is that all there is? I’ve recently challenged myself to take a big step back. While conventions and strategies are important, and I’ve discussed many here, I also sometimes feel like I am getting...
2 months ago • 3 min read
Hello, It’s time to dig into cross-references again, picking up where I left off two weeks ago. If you missed that first reflection, you can read it here. I had a lot more to write than I initially thought about how I use, or don’t use, cross-references, which is why I have split these reflections into two posts. Cross-references are a versatile tool for redirecting readers around the index. They highlight that beyond alphabetical sort, which imposes a default structure, the structure of the...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Hello, Welcome back to another Q&A on this last Tuesday of the month! The original query I received referenced a specific project I had mentioned—I think a larger book and index that I had written for an Oxford University Press title—but I don’t know for certain which project. So I am going to rephrase the question. I hope I still manage to answer the original question. How long does it take you to index larger books? Oxbridge generally doesn’t allot enough time for me to complete their...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Hello, Some time ago a client asked me how I decide when to use cross-references and why certain arrays have cross-references and not others. Which is a good question. I decided to sit down and outline all of the different scenarios in which I use—or don’t use—cross-references, and, well, the list is a lot longer than I expected. So, I’m going to split this reflection in half. Part two to come in a couple of weeks. As a very brief introduction, cross-references are like signposts that...
3 months ago • 4 min read