I’ve tried searching for something on the Web using keywords or phrases and been given a list, which although it’s filtered through a “relevance” algorithm, still gives me mostly irrelevant content. Some folks say it’s just me being lazy with my search terms and that I should go to the advanced search options to narrow […]
Setting Boundaries with Clients
After an interesting conversation with a PI partner on Skype, I looked back and saw a blog post on setting boundaries that needed expression. I remember from when I started my freelance book indexing business the feeling of not wanting to turn down any jobs, because, who knows if another one would show up to […]
Indexing Expertise: The Importance of Practice
Love reading nonfiction? Know quite a bit about a lot of subjects? Expert author in your field? It seems like these would be great preliminary qualifications for building indexes. And understanding of the subject matter is a very important prerequisite for indexing a book, although PhD-level expertise may not always be necessary. For example, I […]
PI Day 2021: Infinite Combinations
Since we are PI (Potomac Indexing), we’ve always held the mathematical constant, π, close to our hearts and use it in our logo. So, today being π day, we are again celebrating the usefulness of this great and ultimately impossible-to-pin-down number (more on π’s unique qualities at Wikipedia, here). PI and Indexing As indexers and taxonomists, […]
The Power of Affiliation
I still remember my first ASI (American Society for Indexing) conference in 1992 (long time ago). I was pregnant with my second child at the time, and the conference happened to occur in nearby San Antonio, Texas. This conference and the affiliations I was able to create by being there are what launched my book […]
Why Are Book Indexes So Inconsistent?
Why are book indexes so inconsistent? All the different variations create all kinds of questions. The short answer is that every index is a custom job. One of the first things new indexer mentees notice when I’ve asked them to evaluate an index from their own point of view is that there are so many variations […]
