There are an incredible number of books about indexing, but you might want to start with the books published by experienced indexers. You may think that a book can be well understood by the author him or herself, no one will know better than the author does. He starts searching for specific terms he needs to be sure this book will. Book indexers usually work from home on a freelance basis. Professional indexers use software, but it doesnt eliminate the brainwork. If you would like to get this blog by email, sign up for wordmaps tips, my free newsletter. Praise for handbook of indexing techniques, 5th edition i welcome this fifth edition. As a result it will have the name, author isbn and even a description of the book. Its use as a reference tool, consequently, is minimal and usually secondary to the target audience of the book.
This book is an essential compendium for indexers and technical writers desiring to maximize. While the software can help check for bad references and missing locators, there are many variables to consider. Please note that macrex is not an automatic indexing program, and will not create. Learn to become a freelance indexer with a 3cassette video or 1day workshop. Most indexers currently use dedicated indexing software. File indexing software for windows wincatalog 2019. The indexing books as a career mooc is intended for individuals interested in exploring a possible indexing career as well as for authors and editors who work with indexers. How to create an index for your book in adobe indesign. How to contract with a book indexer word for word book services. Macrex is a computer program designed to assist the backof book indexer working from printed proofs, text on disk, the authors manuscript, or an existing book.
Its not unusual for publishers and editors who have not come from a scholarly background, or who have worked mainly with fiction, to have an incomplete understanding of what an index is, its purpose, and how it works. In a traditional backofthe book index, the headings will include names of people, places, events, and concepts selected by the indexer as being relevant and of interest to a possible reader of the book. I can honestly say that this job is way more different and less stressful. This course is not meant to be a substitute for a comprehensive indexing course but does provide a detailed introduction to the process of indexing and working as an indexer. Its free, very easy to use, and requires no backups since everything is in the cloud. Providing an index gives your nonfiction book a professional edge, and compiling one is as easy as abc once youve mastered the basic rules. Indexing books, second edition chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing mulvany, nancy c. For instance, a concordance can be a great asset to an indexer, to assist in finding and analysing the minutest references to a term, for its possible inclusion in the index. The top 6 myths holding you back posted on august 15, 2015 february 28, 2019 author stephen sinco 68 comments fundamentally, to learn how to become a software developer is the same as to pursue any career path. I am a professional book indexer february 17, 2018 2 comments i, like most people, was taken aback when i heard that grant writes the indexes for books for a living. To answer this need, the american society for indexing has focused on educating and creating standards for indexes in ebooks. For this, youll need to master book indexing software and industry standards or find a freelancer to index your book.
In fact, with courses like this, you can write a book in just 30. If you have written the book yourself, its quite difficult to distance yourself from the text and think how to construct an index in a way that will be most helpful for the reader. Getting started in ebook indexing for indexers indexes in ebooks are startlingly unused at this point in ebook development. Splunk is a software platform to search, analyze and visualize the machinegenerated data gathered from the websites, applications, sensors, devices etc. As a result of the conference, ive received a referral and am being hired by a university. Professional book indexer vanessa wells gives us a peek into her diary. Autoindex php script directory indexer autoindex is a php script that makes a table that lists the files in a directory, and lets users access the files and subdirectories. I have commanded the program to index all bold entries in my book and ignore any. The process known as indexer module appears to belong to software sharpdesk by sharp corporation or yutv media.
Its quite easy from the standpoint of operating the software, but it wont turn you into a professional indexer, which. It includes searching, icons for each file type, an admin panel, uploads, access logging, file descriptions, and more. Indexing books as a career free mooc sylvia coates. The society currently recommends that indexing rates start from. Oct 18, 20 professional indexer and successful selfpublished novelist joanne phillips provides an easytofollow guide to compiling an index for a selfpublished nonfiction book. Get your site, blog or any web link ranked high in a matter of hours. If after reading parts 1 and 2 of this series youve decided that a computer isnt competent to index your book and that hiring a. You can do a training course with the society of indexers by distance learning.
Getting started in ebook indexing for indexers digital. From starting an indexing business to running an indexing business, along with specialty instruction for indexing in genealogy, history, law, medicine, psychology, and scholarly books, youll be learning from experienced indexing professionals. Its the most practical and straightforward guide to the process of composing index entries and compiling a working index. Its also a mark of serious scholarship thats designed to be part of a body of.
But it is not at all right while coming to book indexing services. So you want to be an indexer indexing is a professional, creative, serious, enriching career with serious potential for income generation, knowledge exploration, and community improvement. From everything ive read, it seems if i am going to choose just one, its got to be eweka. Crossreferences are an important part of terminology control in your book. The sublime joy of making a book index without bullshit. Book indexing how to make a book index in microsoft word. I am a professional book indexer the yawning chasm. If you think indexing may be for you, have a go at the questionnaire and simple indexing exercises on the next pages.
In most of the publishing contractors, authors pay for the index to get a professional indexer. Fiction authors are lucky that they only have to create a table of contents, but nonfiction authors also have to create a robust index to help readers navigate their book. Even where the author is an indexer herself, she may choose to employ someone else to index her book, as pat booth did for indexing. If you are looking for an interesting, satisfying and intellectually challenging job which can be combinedread more. Professional book indexers invest in software programs like sky.
Want more information about indexers and how to choose the right one for you. This page includes three benefits of hiring a professional indexer and a discussion about how to decide what kind of index and indexer you need for your book. Indexing software i use microsoft words index function 5 to 20 hours of time, in one to fourhour uninterrupted chunks. If you are an author or editor needing to prepare an index to your book or other publication, you may wish to consult our indexer locator, which lists professional indexers, their areas of expertise, and full contact information. Indexing for ebooks means creating a traditional backofthe book style index familiar to all readers, where locators traditionally page numbers, are hyperlinked to their referenced passages within the ebook.
If youre considering indexing your own book, this article will help you get your head around the typographic requirements for formatting a. File indexing software for windows wincatalog 2019 automatically index all files and folders from disks and find files quickly using advanced powerful search and search for duplicate files, without having to insert the original disk. Im on a very, very, very tight budget my local currency is absurdly devalued nowadays, so i intend to buy one good lifetime indexer and solo on eweka for a provider. Indexing books, second edition chicago guides to writing, editing, and publishing. For many it is part of a portfolio career encompassing other paid employment or freelance activities such as editorial work, or provides a means of income which fits round other commitments. When ebooks and their associated ereader software were first developed, little attention was paid to the index. Indexing offers the flexibility of working from home. How to index a selfpublished nonfiction book a beginners.
After working many years in a customer service roll, whether it was in retail or restaurant. Book indexing is not a getrichquick scheme, nor is it a way to passive income. The indexer may be the author, the editor, or a professional indexer working as a third party. The course takes around 45 to 50 hours of study and is recognised by the chartered institute of library and information professionals. Pdf index generator is a powerful indexing utility for generating the back of your book index and writing it to your book in 4 easy steps. This is a combination of online tutorials, assignments and assessments. Indexer software the indexer software is one of the programs that run on the indexer workstation.
The book contains what you need to know if you are considering becoming an indexer what the life of an indexer is like, how to learn indexing, and how to start your indexing business. Fees indexing fees are usually based on the recommended rates of the society of indexers. Indexing books, second edition chicago guides to writing. The index is created as a completely independent document. Tagging allow indexing codes to be embedded in the electronic text after the indexing is complete.
Embedded indexing is the process of creating index entries electronically in a documents files. So you want to be an indexer american society for indexing. The indexer inserts the index entries as invisible text in the electronic files. Some do it as a fulltime career, others use it to supplement income from other activities or pensions, or as a means to earn some money while staying at home with small children. Worldox offers the option to run the indexer as a service iaas, or you can stay with the traditional method of running it as a normal application. Obviously, when running as a normal application, the indexer needs to stay logged in for the. Textract can handle a wide variety of input files and seems to be favoured by pro book indexers.
Quality indexing of books, manuals, and online help. A comprehensive look at how to create an index for a book in adobe indesign including settings for 1, 2, and 3level indexes. It will scan a given folderpath for the supported ebook formats, and analyze their meta tags. The amount of crossreferencing needed for your book is a significant consideration for the indexer when determining the cost of doing an index for a book. Read the first chapter and skim the remainder of the book. How to contract with a book indexer word for word book. Writing a book is one of the most challenging and rewarding things you will ever do.
How to make money from home by indexing books toughnickel. Although desktop publishing packages are not the best tools for indexing, they can be used to create effective embedded indexes. This is a book that every indexer and indexertobe needs. As with all careers, however, not everyone has the skill or temperament required for the profession. While scrivener is the best book writing software, once you get to editing and getting feedback, it begins to fall short. A survey of automated book index making software news from jurn. Website indexer gets your site ranked high on search engines using the latest technology. If you love books and reading, have a fairly analytical mind, would love to be a business owner, and are looking for a. Aug 05, 2009 a reader asked me to do a video on how to make a book index in word. The software merely provides efficient ways of sorting and formatting. In fact, normally they use the software in tandem with hardcopy page proofs not electronic files, reading the pages and typing entries into fields.
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