“It was the kind of attention that makes any author roll over and lie on his back, purring, as if having his belly fur scratched.”

Those words are from an author who had written many books, but for the first time had had one professionally indexed.  Read the rest of his comments here.

Indexing in the Early Days: Part II

How different my life would have been if I had taken the job of “gatherer,” the other opening for people with my experience (none) and skills (none) at The Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company in the summer of 1970.   The reason I didn’t was because I didn’t know what a gatherer was.  But then I […]

Advice for freelancers

From Dr. Freelance’s Freelance Forecast: Q:  If you could give ONE piece of advice to someone starting out or considering becoming a freelancer, what would it be?  A:  With nearly 500 responses, space prohibits listing them all here, but they break roughly into the following categories: Go for it/be optimistic/be tenacious. Be ready to work hard and occasionally […]

Indexing in the early days: Part I

Several people have urged me to write about my early days in indexing.  I guess I should. I was called an editorial clerk — an important sounding title, I thought — when I got my first indexing assignment in 1972.  The Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, my employer of already two years, was compiling a general […]

Access is a privilege

There is a divide between those with and without the privilege of access: In An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar, Taryn Simon compiles an inventory of what lies hidden and out-of-view within the borders of the United States. She examines a culture through documentation of subjects from domains including: science, government, medicine, entertainment, […]

Don’t talk phony-baloney

‘To gift’ is not a verb. (As in, “Bill Gates gifted the organization with a generous check”). ‘To parent” is not a verb.  (As in, “Florence parented her naughty children with consistent firmness”). ‘To dialog’ is not a verb. (As in, “Let’s dialog about proposed features of the new mousetrap”). ‘To liaise’ is not a verb. (As […]

“Which book should I buy?”

A guy called Jared Spool studied how people make that choice. Spool, a usability expert who lectures around the world, studied people browsing through bookstores.  Observing how people determine what a book is about, Spool found that approximately half turn to the back of the book and review the index.  More here. “Which book is […]

Responsible parenting

Information that cannot be found …

      … might as well not exist.”    ~ Nancy Mulvany

More stuff I index

In July of 2007 the Guardian newspaper in the UK reported the case of a Muslim woman juror who had been discharged from a murder trial after she was caught listening to her iPod, concealed under her hijab, during important prosecution evidence. The judge had heard traces of “tinny music” throughout the trial but thought […]