News
Indexing and… bookselling
Posted on: 19/12/2024
Many of the Society of Indexers’ members combine indexing with other work. In this post, professional indexer Sue Penny discusses combining indexing with librarianship. My background 10 years ago, I was a full-time school librarian in a small school in a small community. Although I was the only library professional in the school, I was
Read More
Ask the Indexers: on client feedback
Posted on: 16/12/2024
In this Ask the Indexers blog post, our panel of indexers reflects on client feedback. What is the best piece of feedback they’ve ever had, positive or negative? And did it change how they approached their work? Nic Nicholas, Fellow “The index is splendid. Nic’s work is of such a high standard that she has
Read More
New Honorary President
Posted on: 27/11/2024
We are delighted to announce that Caroline Sanderson has agreed to become the Society of Indexers’ new Honorary President. Caroline is an author, journalist and reviewer; as Associate Editor of The Bookseller she has championed non-fiction in her regular reviews and round-ups of forthcoming work. She is also Programme Director of Stroud Book Festival, and
Read More
Ask the Indexers: What aspects of indexing as a career turned out to be very different from your expectations?
Posted on: 14/11/2024
Our panel reflects on what an indexing career can be like, compared to what they imagined it might be while training. Rohan Bolton, Fellow Starting indexing nearly twenty years ago I had not realised how important computer and IT skills are in order to be efficient and how quickly things are changing: learning how to
Read More
Ask the Indexers: can’t a computer do that?
Posted on: 29/10/2024
This is the first in a series of blog posts that ask a panel of experienced indexers questions about indexing practice and life as an indexer. These will be appearing regularly over the next few months as our indexers share their expertise and experiences. For this post, we tackle the question indexers field most often
Read More
Human Indexing in a Digital World: Society of Indexers Conference, 18–19 September 2024
Posted on: 27/09/2024
Human indexers from around the world met online in the digital space of Zoom for this year’s SI Conference. Between 50 and 60 members of SI and our sister societies attended over the two days, which were scheduled to enable participation from different time zones. In this post, Tanya Izzard reports on the main events
Read More
Conference 2024: Human Indexing in a Digital World
Posted on: 01/08/2024
Bookings are now open for the Society of Indexers 2024 online conference ‘HumanIndexing in a Digital World’. The conference will take place via Zoom on Wednesday 18thSeptember and Thursday 19th September 2024. The conference programme timetableis now available here. The conference main sessions and presenters are: Plus parallel breakout discussion sessions including: The rate for
Read More
How much did I make? — Tracking time and cost of indexing projects with a spreadsheet
Posted on: 09/07/2024
Tracking time and costs is crucial for freelance indexers aiming to maximise earnings and efficiency. In this blog post, Magda Wojcik introduces a comprehensive spreadsheet tool designed to help you accurately track your financials, streamline your workflow, and provide precise quotes for your services. The spreadsheet can be downloaded at the bottom of the screen.
Read More
Indexing names: wrestling with the nobiliary particle
Posted on: 25/06/2024
Some names have that little bit extra, the nobiliary particle – a preposition or article in a name. The image above shows Alexandra, Freifrau von und zu Bodman, born Alexandra Offensandt von Berckholtz, who provides a good example of the form. How do indexers deal with names like this? Firstly, W. Stephen Gilbert sets out
Read More
Passing Mentions
Posted on: 11/06/2024
One of the most frequent queries indexers get from clients is “Why is this term not in the index?” In this post, indexer Tanya Izzard explains what passing mentions are, why we sometimes leave them out, and how we make that decision. Definitions Passing mentions (sometimes called passing references or minor mentions) are usually defined
Read More
Indexing Biographies
Posted on: 28/05/2024
In this post indexer W. Stephen Gilbert discusses one of the trickiest aspects of indexing biographical books: how to deal with index entries for the biographical subject, their works and activities. Most indexers will be called upon to index a volume that is more or less biographical. Such tasks pose particular and often quite ticklish
Read More
Working with self-publishers
Posted on: 14/05/2024
An introduction to working with self-publishing writers Did you know self-published authors sell over 300 million books annually? This burgeoning market presents exciting opportunities for indexers seeking to expand their clientele. However, working with self-publishing authors (also known as independent or indie authors) requires a different approach than working with traditional publishing houses. In this
Read More
