what indexers do

Subject: what indexers do
From: "D. Shaw" <shawd -at- MINDSPRING -dot- COM>
Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 17:54:10 -0400

Hillary said:
>Could anyone who has hired an indexer before email me privately and tell
>me how that works?
>
>Specifically what I want to know is: does the indexer just tell you what
>terms to include and you do it yourself? does the indexer take your
>FrameMaker files and mark all the terms for you? Basically I'm trying to
>discover how much time and effort hiring an indexer for a few manuals
>would save!

This information is being drawn from the depths of my memory (13 years
deep), so I'm posting it, too, in the event my memory is hopelessly outdated.

I used to index books, in the days when it was done on index cards or little
slips of paper, from the page proofs. Mine were even typed on my ancestral
manual Royal upright. I would imagine that the basic procedure hasn't
changed, although it's likely that time-saving tools are now available.

It's not difficult to hire an indexer, and if your manuals are intended for
customers, then a professional index is an asset. For current information on
rates, contracts, contacts with experience in your subject area, and
expectations, get in touch with your nearest indexing society: the Society
of Indexers (London); the American Society of Indexers (New York); the
Indexing and Abstracting Society of Canada/Socie\te\ canadienne pour
l'analyse de documents (Toronto?); or the Australian Society of Indexers
(Adelaide?). Get contact info off the Web or from your local reference
librarian; the societies are all related. Indexers are often also editors,
proofreaders, or librarians.

Now, you probably already know what an indexer does, but as a former indexer
who has been frustrated many times by help programs that aren't helpful, I
feel compelled to tell you. There is nothing more frustrating for a user
than not being able to find a needed answer because you can't remember, or
never knew, the programming term.

An indexer dissects a document, then reconstructs it into a list that makes
the information readily accessible. No matter what tools are used, much of
the information must be carried in the indexer's brain for the duration of
the job. A good index is a map and summary combined, and it can be a selling
point; many people check out the index before buying a book. I have never
seen a good index that was compiled entirely by a computer program.

The indexer you hire will tell you what is needed and in what format. At a
minimum, he or she will need:
* a printed, _final_ copy of the document
* an electronic _final_ copy that will work with the indexing software
* your style guidelines, including which system of alphabetization you
prefer, what level of indexing you require, and how much space is allowed
for the index
* a contact who is available and authorized to answer questions and make
decisions
* information about who will use the document

The basic steps of indexing are:
1 read the document--at least twice
2 compile the references (this is where you dissect it)
3 write the index
4 edit the index
5 check the index
6 rewrite; add cross references and the joke (traditionally, every _good_
index has a single joke, which the indexer is not obliged to identify)
7 edit again
8 rewrite
9 proof
10 repeat steps 7 through 9 as many times as possible or necessary, without
missing the deadline

You might be able to save the indexer's time by providing an initial set of
suggested references (step 2 above), including key terms and actions,
provided you don't restrict the index to these references.

The indexer should be comfortable with the subject, but not familiar with
the material. A good indexer writes the index from the perspective of the
person who will use the document. With a fresh approach, the indexer will
often spot errors--especially errors of inconsistency--that slipped past the
author, all the internal reviewers, and the copy editor. For this reason,
the indexer should not _be_ the author, a reviewer, or the copy editor, nor
a programmer if this is software documentation. (Book publishers,
especially, try to cut costs by making the author responsible for the index.)

My very first index was a learning laboratory for indexing. It was an
anthropology anthology that linked four subjects, had two editors (one on
one subject, the other on the other three) who were 1,000 miles apart (this
was before email, faxes, and answering machines were common), and articles
written by twelve different scholars, scattered worldwide, who used
different terms for the same thing. The audience would include college
freshmen taking their first anthro or policy sciences courses, and
professionals with many years experience. Luckily for me, it did _not_ have
a tight deadline. It was great fun and quite a challenge; I was credited and
the index was complimented in a review that panned the book.

Cheers,
Deborah Shaw
shawd -at- mindspring -dot- com

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