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 grateful for these long-standing relationships and would hate to lose them. Yet as my business changes, I wonder if some of my clients and I will part ways.

My main concern, right now, is with price. I have been raising my prices to help raise my income to a level which is in line with my current financial needs and goals. I had a good discussion earlier this year with one of my anchor clients in which my contact acknowledged that they want to continue to work with me and that they want to pay me fairly, and yet there is a limit to how much of a price increase they can accommodate. We did settle on an increase, for which I am thankful. I would be very sad to lose this client. Yet a part of me is still uneasy, wondering about the next time we have this conversation.

For me, a key part of running a sustainable indexing business is having a diverse mix of clients and projects. Even my biggest clients provide no more than fifteen or twenty percent of my total income. I currently work with about fifteen different publishers, both trade and scholarly, who either hire me directly or refer me to their authors. Some of these publishers only hire or refer me for one or two books per year, but cumulatively it all add up.

I don’t want to be too dependent on any one source because clients come and go. Over the fifteen years I’ve been freelancing, it has happened at least five or six times that a publisher I’ve worked with has gone out of business, was downsized, my main contact left, or… I don’t fully know the reason why I stopped hearing from them. But because I have a diverse mix of clients, occasionally losing one, while sad, doesn’t make much of a difference to my schedule. There are enough other offers coming in to fill the gap.

Maintaining a good mix also means that I am not tied to any single production schedule. Publishers tend to follow an internal production cycle, which depends on the types of books they publish and the audience they sell to. Think trade publishers releasing books in time for Christmas or textbook publishers preparing for the start of the next academic year. By working with a variety of publishers, there are certain times of the year I may index more trade, other times of the year more scholarly. Either way, my schedule stays full.

A mix of projects also provides variety and respite. Some books are more of a grind to read and index. Having a different subject to switch to, or a different audience, can feel like a break even if it is still indexing.

So if you are a newer indexer, I recommend diversifying your client base and project mix. Specializing can be a excellent tactic to be distinctive and to simplify marketing, as well as to play to your strengths and subject expertise, but try to have three or four specialities, not just one. An anchor client or two who send multiple projects per year is great, but don’t stop there. Try to have at least six publishers, if not a dozen, who regularly offer work. If you primarily work with authors, be intentional about asking for referrals and expanding your network. The best way to ensure steady work is to have work from multiple sources.

Over time, a wide client base should self-perpetuate. Satisfied clients become regular, repeat clients. Satisfied clients also pass your name along, leading to new clients. The need to actively market lessens because enough offers keep coming in. This has been my experience over the last several years. It is an excellent and fortunate position to be in.

And yet.

As my business goals change, as I seek to optimize income, as I seek projects and clients which are a better fit for me, I may also need to proactively shift who I work with.

This is the part which is a pep talk for myself, because change is hard. I want my clients to like me. I don’t want to say no to reliable sources of work. Yet while serving the client is important, I need to remember that my business also exists to serve me. I am choosing to freelance in order to earn a certain level of income and to have a measure of control and flexibility in how I work. My client and project mix should support these goals as well.

I am not planning on making drastic changes, but I think I do need to be prepared for some change. I need to be prepared that I may price out clients as I raise rates. Being proactive, I can identify and fire my lowest paying clients, to make room for those with larger budgets. I can also look to see which books and subjects are most lucrative for me to index and which I earn the least on. Either I need to raise prices for those low performers or I need to turn down those offers and focus marketing on what I am good at. I want to maintain a diverse mix of clients, while also acknowledging that there are likely potential clients out there who are a better fit for my current goals whom I am not yet working with. The trick is to somehow find them.

For experienced indexers, I think it is important to periodically check in with our business goals and to see if our current work aligns. Change can feel risky, especially if everything seems to be going alright. But improvements can often be made. Change can be incremental, more like adjusting the course. Change does not need to be wholesale reinvention.

Whether you are a new indexer or experienced, how do you find your current mix of clients and projects? Are there any relationships you want to keep and strengthen? Any clients you want to get rid of? A dream client you have yet to land?

Happy freelancing,

Stephen