Just because we work freelance from home does not mean that we should ignore ergonomics. Admittedly if you are working at the kitchen table it may be a bit more difficult to achieve, but it’s likely possible. You need not cringe and immediately respond that you can’t afford it—there are lots of simple, inexpensive […]
Occupational Hazards
Most of us who spend lots of hours at the computer as a way of earning our living likely don’t think of our jobs as having occupational hazards, but we really do have them. They may not be as blatantly obvious as in other occupations—e.g. construction, or farming. If you are not aware of hazards, […]
Publishing Client Schedule Uncertainties
In the almost-thirty years I’ve been indexing and editing, many changes have occurred in the publishing industry, but the one that affects me the most on a weekly basis is the floating calendar. In spite of (or perhaps because of) fancy book design software and instant emailing of manuscript copy, the timeline for publishing books […]
Yoga for the Indexer
…or editor, or proofreader, or anyone who does most or all of their work in a sitting position. There was a lot serious continuing education at the American Society for Indexing’s 2018 conference, like software exploration, specialty indexing, controlled vocabulary, and indexing music sessions. There was also a session that still applies today entitled “Kinks […]
I’m Too Busy!
We hear about how people tend to treat the urgent as important, as an emergency. Business coaches preach prioritization and boundaries, saying “no” or “yes, but …” or “yes, later …” But what about when we get really good at ignoring maintenance in favor of deadlines? Freelancers have a different relationship to urgent than office […]
Juggling Multiple Projects
Some indexers prefer to have more than one index at a time, and others don’t. No matter what your preference, you can’t always avoid slipped schedules and project pile-ups. There are several ways to handle the balancing act of colliding deadlines, and no one way is better than the other, although you’ll find that one […]
