by We’re running a series of interviews to introduce you all to our wonderfully talented group of independent indexers and taxonomists who enable us to say “yes” to the variety of project types and turnaround times our clients are looking for. Today, we’d like you to get to know our talented book indexer, Jim Diggins.
Your Business
PI: How long have you been an associate at Potomac Indexing?
In 2008, Richard Shrout sought me out at the ASI Conference in Denver, and I have been working on PI projects off and on ever since.
PI: Tell us your indexing (or other information access system) origin story. All superheroes, including indexers, have an origin story.
I started as an attorney indexer at Banks-Baldwin in Cleveland back in the ‘80s, when Enid Zafran was there. After I passed the bar, the small civil rights law firm I had been working for wanted me to become an associate but they couldn’t afford to pay a decent salary. I took what I thought would be a temporary job at B-B, but I found the publishing environment much more to my liking than the practice of law. I survived two corporate takeovers before starting my own indexing business and moving to San Diego in 2001.
I did more than just indexing for Banks-Baldwin (and then West Publishing and Thomson Reuters), such as case note summaries. But when the workplace became more corporate than collegial and I decided to strike out on my own, I realized that indexing was the one skill most transferrable to a sole proprietorship. Luckily, I was able to jump right in with freelance projects for Enid, and also for Thomson Reuters for at least a little while.
PI: What are your specialties and/or favorite subjects?
Law (obviously), and also political science/policy, history, economics, and religion.
PI: Pick one of your favorite subjects and tell us why it fascinates you.
Although I find history more difficult to index than law, I usually find history books very interesting. Although I majored in history in college, it’s not possible to be familiar with more than a tiny fraction of all that human history encompasses. Scholarly history books often explore narrow and unfamiliar slices of history and I’m always learning new things from them. I recently completed an index for a book on Portuguese democratic reform and revolution in the post-Napoleonic period, which I previously knew absolutely nothing about!
PI: What’s your best productivity or indexing secret tip (that you are willing to share, that is)?
Coffee (lots of it) and classical music. The key to me is achieving “flow” so that my indexing becomes a Zen experience. The coffee is also important because it keeps me from snacking!
PI: What do you consider the most challenging aspect of the work?
In the early years, the biggest challenge was definitely dealing with prolonged slow periods and lack of work. It was a bigger mental challenge than a financial one, and it took a number of years to learn how not to stress out about my workflow.
These days, one challenge is dealing with authors who have no understanding of indexing but who are very difficult toward indexers. Fortunately this has been quite rare in my experience. When this does occur, it takes a delicate balance of patience, politeness, and firmness to work with them.
PI: Where do you usually work? (Please include a photo of your office setup unless it’s a secret superhero location)
My office is in the guest bedroom of the house my partner David and I share. Space is tight as we run three businesses from home!
PI: Talk about your process (and this can be for book indexing or other related projects, like keyword tagging, embedded indexing, etc.). Any advice for other professionals—new and experienced?
I do a large number of embedded indexes for scholarly books. For these projects only, I have developed a method of numbering each paragraph within a chapter, then creating an outline of that chapter on paper. Each numbered paragraph gets a line on which I write in very abbreviated fashion all topical issues and proper names to be indexed. The outline usually becomes covered in brackets, parentheses, and arrows, as I use it to develop a comprehensive and interrelated structure for the index. I’m sure it would look like gibberish to anyone else looking at it! But I find this method is especially helpful for more abstract and esoteric texts.
PI: What are your favorite/most-used tools, for indexing or other business purposes?
Dave Ream’s IXMLembedder software has been a lifesaver for very large embedded indexing projects. I maintain almost all my records in Excel…I tried QuickBooks but really could not tailor it effectively to my specific needs.
PI: CINDEX, SKY or Macrex (or other)? What do you like best about your choice?
CINDEX. I have never used the other programs so I can’t really compare the pros and cons.
PI: If you could only recommend one book about indexing, what would it be?
I have not read too many indexing books, but ASI has a number of useful handbooks. Indexing Specialties: Law by Peter Kendrick and Enid Zafran is one handbook that still occupies a spot on my book shelf.
Personal Perspective
PI: Where do you live (just approximately, since this will be published on the Web)? And if you like, tell us a bit about your surroundings and folks you live with (including furry friends) if you wish.
San Diego. I share a house with my partner David and our dogs Caspar and Ruby. We live in a modest house that is fortunate enough to be at the top of a canyon with a great view all the way to Mexico.
PI: Tell us about your hobbies. Are there specific ones you turn to as a break from work, or any that are a special treat in between or at the end of projects?
Weightlifting, tai chi, meditation, biking, hiking…good things to keep the body healthy and disengage the mind from the ultra-left-hemispheric practice of indexing. Gardening and travel are things David and I enjoy doing together. Oh, and writing…I have a couple half-written novels lying around that I really need to finish some day!
PI: What’s the last book you read for fun?
The Active Side of Infinity by Carlos Castaneda.
PI: What’s your superpower?
Since I have not yet perfected levitation, I would say indexing very arcane or abstruse subject matter (which one frequently encounters in law and religion texts).
Leave a Reply