Shall I Index This Book?

Freelancing can be a tough gig.  We are almost constantly concerned about getting and keeping clients and work.   Even if we are up to our eyebrows in work, we hesitate to turn away work.  Sometimes we submit a bid or accept anything that’s offered.  No matter how desperate we are for work, acceptance should happen only after an appropriate evaluation process. 

The consequences of accepting work without evaluation are likely worse than those of declining a project. If you are too busy you might miss a deadline, or not do your best work as you attempt a rush job, or you may find yourself floundering in a project that is outside your area of expertise or dealing with a highly emotional topic. Work then becomes stressful, resulting in lower quality work and stress if that job is outside our comfort zone.

There are a few instances where I would simply refuse work because of content that I know nothing about, that I found particularly disagreeable, or that was horribly written or edited. Experience has taught me that the wrong project can become quite stressful—a literal nightmare—and that makes my work more difficult and stressful as a whole.

What Information Do I Want?

• What is the general topic and level of the material? For most of us, there is content that is uncomfortable, about which we are biased, or that is simply too specialized for us to understand well.  Remember that the index must reflect the text appropriately.  Strong biases may make producing a quality index very difficult.  
• What are the expectations of the author or editor? If the expectation is for a “quick” index of a very complicated subject, you should make recommendations as to an appropriate level of indexing.
• What kind of index (back-of-book, print only, embedded, or embedded and print) will you be creating? Ask if the author is planning an e-book as well. Promote usable e-book indexes.
• What is the index size—the author’s/editor’s expectations and space allowed in the book? It’s disconcerting to discover that the book is really more suited to a scholarly level of indexing if the author thinks “quick” index. (Been there, done that one.)
• When will the final copy be available? What is the printing schedule for the book?
• Is there a style guide so you can evaluate for special formatting or tagging that would be your responsibility?
• How was your interaction with the person contacting you for the index? Evaluate the author or editor as well as the content. You are a professional with a specific area of expertise. You may need to educate authors or editors, but it’s good to know that as you begin work.

Request a Sample of the Manuscript

Ask for at least two or three chapters from the middle of the manuscript.  Introductions are not a good place to judge the difficulty of the text.  I’ve never had an author or editor refuse this request so long as they understand that if I do not accept the project these will be deleted and will not be shared. This does not have to be final copy, but far enough into the writing process that you can answer the questions below.

• How dense is the text? Small print, multiple columns, or size text and margins are factors that would affect density.
• Do tables and figures need to be indexed? Footnotes? Endnotes?
• Is there specialized terminology? If it is a specialty (e.g. medical) consider the vocabulary/terminology used. You want to be able to read and comprehend the content; if it is not in your “comfort zone” and it will be stressful work for not optimal quality.
• Is the writing organized and clear?  Poorly written work makes your work more difficult. 
• Is the editing well done?  Special terminology should be clear and consistent throughout. In complex works, the formatting should be consistent as then can help make the indexing work easier and faster.
• What is your estimate of the index size? Trying to produce an index that is too short for the subject or padding to lengthen makes your work much more difficult, so consider that in estimating your time.

This doesn’t mean we should never accept a book that pushes our comfort boundaries; we should keep pushing the edges, but do it with awareness of the consequences.