No matter how much we enjoy our work, writing an index can at times be tedious, and even frustrating. We all know the disadvantages of full-text search; however, there are some things that can be made much easier with computer assistance. Search capabilities can be useful even though they can’t produce a quality index by […]
Index Layout: Run-in vs. Indented
When I’ve taught indexing, it’s always been fun to see students go through the first lesson, which has nothing to do with building their own indexes. I start by asking them to go find two books with indexes and describe what those indexes are like: what aspects are useful, what aspects seem to be less […]
Mapping the Page in Book Indexing
I’ve noticed that beginning indexers working with traditional print books can struggle with the challenge of realizing that the most specific target they can give a user is the page number. Over-Indexing For some detail-oriented people who want (sometimes desperately!) to get the index user/reader right to the term they’ve selected, slipping into over-indexing is […]
Proofreading’s Gift to Credibility
So, I was invited to an inspirational online class by a high-energy life coach with what sounded like a very personable presentation style. Looks like she speaks to hundreds at a time and really fires them up to reach their potential. The Price of Confusion But I never got far enough to see what her […]
Still Smarter than Bots
It’s been very enlightening finding out that we’re still smarter than those little programs that go around and index websites. I realize that computers like IBM’s Watson are making waves on Jeopardy and elsewhere, but semantic understanding seems to still be primarily the domain of humans. Bots come up with the darndest things! The Downside […]
We’ve Got Rhythm!
Yes, we’ve all got rhythm—circadian rhythm. We usually don’t think much about it, we just go about our daily affairs. Sometimes we’re perky and other times we slog through the day, working when we’d rather be having a “duvet day.” But, work needs to be done. That rhythm that we have built in is a […]
