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Back to Fall 2006 Conference Summary page
Fall 2006 Conference Workshop
Indexing Tips: From the Most Common Mistakes to Advanced Techniques
Presented by Susan Holbert
Susan Holbert has been an indexing consultant for more than 20 years, and is the creator of two indexing seminars: Basic Indexing, and How to Index User Manuals and Online Help. She is also one of the developers of the indexing software program, wINDEX. Susan gave a funny, entertaining, and very informative presentation, with exercises and feedback for the participants, as well as opportunity for questions throughout.
Discussion started with the definition of what an index is and is not, (“It is not the indexer’s job to tell the reader what is in the book, but where to find it.”) and with review of the basic steps of indexing: apportioning time, reading and marking, formulating entries, reviewing and editing, and proofreading. Susan stressed how easy it is to underestimate the time needed for editing, and suggested leaving at least 50% of the alloted time for editing. Moving on, she explained the importance of putting yourself in the place of the reader, avoiding overindexing, and being concise in creating entries. Cross-references and selection of subentries followed, and finally, there was plenty of discussion about rates, especially the importance of not undercharging, and the negotiation of terms.
Susan Holbert has indexed more than one hundred books and manuals, ranging from a programming textbook to the autobiography of Rosalynn Carter. She has worked for the U.S. and Massachusetts government, as well as for numerous technology and business firms, including Sun Microsystems, Ortho Diagnostics, and American Management Association. As a long-term indexing consultant to Lotus Development Corp., she wrote the Indexing chapter of the Lotus Style Guide. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Society for Documentation Professionals and the Freelance Editorial Association. She was president of NEASI under its former name, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Society of Indexers, in 1998-99. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College.