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Back to Spring 2006 meeting summary page
Spring 2006 Meeting Presentation
Show Me the Money: The Business Side of Indexing
Presented by Seth Maislin
Seth Maislin gave a fast-paced and entertaining presentation on the financial side of indexing. After interpreting some of the results from ASI's 2004 salary survey (at which he explained that a typical indexer must index 11,235 pages annually to earn a gross income of $45K in addition to other statistics), he talked about the path of money in and out of an indexer's office.
The highlight of the income side was a list of about 25 reasons to charge more money for indexing services. Other topics included other income sources such as rush fees and kill fees, reimbursement for incidentals, and subcontracting.
On the "out" side, Seth comprehensively listed types of office expenses, home-office spending, insurance, an others. He also took time to explain social security tax payments and suggest some possibilities for other tax deductions, as well as some kinds of business expenses that can benefit the indexer in non-work ways. Seth concluded his talk with some open Q&A on topics such as overseas outsourcing and mentoring.
Seth Maislin, is vice-president/president-elect of the American Society of Indexers and a former board member of what-was-then-called the Massachusetts chapter. He is a freelancer indexer and indexing consultant through his business Focus Information Services, an indexing instructor at Middlesex Community College, an information architecture instructor at Bentley College in Waltham, and a private mentor. Read his blog.
E-mail: seth@maislin.com.