So there you are, sighing in relief and stretching your shoulders, because you care about ergonomics. You’ve just typed in the last entry from the last page, and you’ve done all your basic editing tasks (spelling, deleting unnecessary subheadings, checking acronyms, you know the drill). It’s time to check the length against your client’s specs. You’re […]
Tools for Working on the Go
One of the oft-touted benefits of freelance life is the ability to work anywhere. (Of course, being expected to work anywhere can be one of its drawbacks!) While my home office is the easiest and most comfortable place for me to work, it’s not always a possibility. Sometimes, I even find getting out of the house is the best way to overcome “indexer’s block.” There are […]
Time Management: When you Can’t, Don’t
I recently wrote about time management, saying I like to do as much as I can, when I can. Life is unpredictable, and I need the security of knowing I’ve built in some emergency buffer. Focus is also easier when there’s a ticking clock—kind of a short-term version of deadline pressure—or when I know I only have to […]
Time Management: Have Children?
I am a notorious time management junkie, one of those people who procrastinates by reading blogs about doing everything better and faster, whose favorite thing about the Harry Potter universe is Hermione’s time-turner. Talk about multitasking! Multitasking is one thing I don’t do well—and I think we’re all starting to realize it’s not a good tactic. In the […]
Mirror, Mirror: Matching the Index to the Text
There are various metaphors for an index: a roadmap, web, a library catalog, a hallway full of doors. I even sometimes graph out an index, putting what I think of as “vertical topics” (chapters and main sections) on the y-axis and “horizontal topics” (the small incidental themes that pop up over and over throughout the book) […]
Expert, Generalist, or Somewhere in Between?
One of the fun things about indexing — yes, it’s a fun job! — is learning about subjects I wouldn’t otherwise. In my spare time, I’d rather read a young adult novel than a book about party politics or programming apps. But on the job, I do read about just about every subject imaginable (indexers […]
