The bones of the book

The X-Ray feature available on new editions of Amazon’s e-readers could be viewed as a replacement for an index. Comparisons of the details available to readers in X-Ray and in a traditional index show that X-Ray is missing valuable information and does not show us, as Amazon claims, ‘the bones of the book.’

In her article, fellow indexer Jan Wright looks at the X-Ray feature of Amazon’s Kindle Touch. Read Jan’s article here.

On vacations, health insurance, and getting paid

A famous indexer would have turned 100 today

Some people know she was a French chef.  I know she was an indexer.

At a conference in 1997, she sat beside me. We are tall girls (me, 5’9″; her 6’2″), so we knew to sit in the back. It was on the top row of a big lecture hall, right after lunch. Editing Your Index was the topic. “Poke me if I doze off,” she chuckled under her breath.

“A reference or teaching book is only as good as its index.” ~ Julia Child

Take the L Train

I always wanted a place that was a small well-curated bookshop where you can come through, spend time, and have a beer.

Next time I’m in New York, I’m off to Molasses Books in Brooklyn. Its owner, Matt Winn, knows what’s what. He thinks bookstores need to be places with atmosphere — places that offer something communal and tactile.

Read more about Matt and his new bookstore here.

And here’s the subway route from Midtown.

100 years ago

Rochester Public Library deposit station in 1913

As part of the public library’s extension work, deposit stations were put in schools, factories, clubs, and neighborhood centers — convenient spots around town — so people could borrow without a special trip to the library.

(From the Rochester Images database.)

The indexer’s soft skull bones

The indexer’s soft skull bones knit together flat while she looks through the bars of the crib.

The world on the other side fits into rectangles. She sorts buttons by color and size. The vase on the wall has a red bird painted on the side. One day it flies across the room and shatters. Words, unexpected, open their wings and change from wall flowers to weapons.

Thank you, Blythe Woolston.

Briefly, clearly, picturesquely, accurately

You want to be a WHAT ?? !!

If you really think you would like to become an indexer, ask yourself these questions:

1. I enjoy words and texts. YES NO
2. I can read a text very quickly and restate what each section is about. YES NO
3. I use indexes regularly. YES NO
4. I can be organized and meticulous. YES NO
5. My general knowledge is good. YES NO
6. I have up-to-date specialist knowledge. YES NO
7. I can copy accurately. YES NO
8. I can spell correctly without relying on a spellchecker. YES NO
9. I can easily spot errors in texts. YES NO
10. I know the rules and conventions of grammar. YES NO
11. I am good at finding and correcting my own mistakes. YES NO
12. I can work impartially and objectively on material with which I may not agree. YES NO
13. I am familiar with a wide range of reference sources and use them easily and regularly. YES NO
14. I can work alone to meet tight deadlines, while still producing high-quality work. YES NO
15. I’d like to be a freelance indexer and have the necessary business skills (or could acquire them). YES NO
16. I can communicate effectively by phone, email, and letter. YES NO
17. I am prepared to spend time and money on training. YES NO
18. I am financially able to allow time for building up an indexing business and a client base. YES NO
19. I use computers regularly. YES NO
20. I am at ease with electronic technology. YES NO

If you have more YESes than NOs, read more here.

With grateful acknowledgment to the UK Society of Indexers.

“Carlos Fuentes has died to be loved even more

May he rest in peace.”

Those were the words of Mexican President Felipe Calderon at the ceremony following Carlos Fuentes’s death yesterday at age 83. A major player in Latin American literature, Fuentes wrote prolifically. USAToday said, “He remained a workhorse until the end, keeping a disciplined writing routine that allowed him to finish novel after novel, with time left over to weigh in on current affairs.”

My personal Fuentes favorite is, of course, This I Believe: An A to Z of a Life.  He described it as the various kinds of love contained in his personal alphabet.  It starts at Amore and ends at Zurich.

Some people just want to make the world a little better

Take Laura Dodd, for example.  “This book was lacking an index, so I prepared one for practice,” says Laura.  She did it pro bono.  You can download it for free here.

The author, Amy Stewart, explains, “There was some kind of glitch in the book production system … The index never got ordered. By the time I realized that there was no index forthcoming, it was too late to do anything about it. And there was no way to add it later without having to repaginate the book and possibly raise the price … But then something extraordinary happened.  A professional indexer walked into my bookstore one day and handed me a complete, extremely detailed, beautifully formatted index.”

Amy Stewart’s Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities is available at Amazon.