Cross references are the instructions in an index that point a user from one place to another, usually taking the form of See or See also. They’re awfully convenient for indexers, providing a way to collect information outside the structure of the index. That is, they function like hyperlinks, drawing connections between one topic and another, when the […]
Usability: Understanding Cross References, Part I
Cross references — those little notes that tell a reader to look elsewhere in the index for information — are a much-loved tool for many indexers (Hans Wellisch gives them 10 pages in Indexing from A to Z). They’re quiet instructions, helping readers get acquainted with the author’s word choices. They neatly connect bits and pieces of the index, highlighting […]
Working with Authors’ Term Lists
Something indexers often get are term lists from authors. These can range from a handful of key concepts to a complete index, with the comment that “the index is done, and all you have to do is put in the page numbers.” Many indexers, having been faced with the latter example, reject author term lists […]
Tightening Up Biography Indexes
Tradition in indexes of biographical subjects has always been a bit counter-intuitive to us indexers. With other subjects, best practices call upon us to avoid long lists of subheadings under what we term “metatopics” (topics that cover the whole book or very large portions of it), and to make main headings out of most of […]
Tracking Process, not Just Progress
John Steinbeck famously kept a diary of his writing process, a practice familiar to many writers, including novelist Sue Grafton and memoirist Louise deSalvo. These diaries, which deSalvo calls “process journals” serve to chronicle only the process of writing, not the rest of life, and often one single writing project at a time. Grafton opened […]
Collaborative Projects and Working with Teams
At PI, we specialize in team projects. Whether it’s collaboration among the partners on business matters or a larger project involving associates, like our embedded indexing work for O’Reilly Media, collaboration comes up in some form in everything we do. Benefits of collaboration Working together has obvious benefits, like sharing the workload to meet tight […]
