What is next?
Creating a rough draft index.
"Whoa!" you exclaim. "I don't know all the 'ins and outs' of indexing yet!"
This might be true. You might not know all the technicalities of indexing, but you have learned enough to create a rough draft index. The following indexing exercise will help you decide, with a minimum amount of money and time, if indexing is the "right" career for you.
The Rough Draft Index Exercise
Buy a couple of books. The first book should have an index. The second book should not.
You can purchase these books at a used book store or a thrift store. Although you can buy new books for this exercise, there isn't a need in spending big bucks for new books that may end up being marked, highlighted, ripped apart, or otherwise rendered worthless for your personal library.
First Rough Draft Index
First use the book that DOES have an index. Don't peek at the index in the book, except to confirm it is there. Now, create your own index.
Set yourself a deadline for indexing the book. Try a two week deadline. Work your life around it, because this is what you will have to do if you freelance index. If you set a deadline, and honor it, this exercise will help you learn how easily family members adapt to your new intended career. You can also learn about your scheduling skills, and how long you are able to concentrate during the various phases of indexing.
In essence, even though you don't know all the technicalities of indexing, you will get a real good feel to see if you actually like the process.
When you finish your rough draft index, compare your index to the one in the book. Did you leave out important entries? You may have lots of entries the book doesn't have, but the indexer may have had space concerns that you did not have in your practice. How did you do? Comparing your index to one that was actually published will give you a bit more feedback to see how your skills compare with another indexer's in organizing material and ability to pick out main points.
The Second Rough Draft Index
Now, get your feet wet by using the book that does not have an index. You are on your own for deciding what entries. How do you feel? Overwhelmed? In desperate need of feedback? Actually, once you get your first job, you will feel the same way. There isn't a previous index that you can "peek" at.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Dawney Spencer's Indexing topic, please visit the Discussions page.