M a r i s o l   P r o d u c t i o n s
Marilyn Joyce Rowland
Advice for New Indexers
Work as a Trainee: Contact established indexers and offer your services to them as an apprentice indexer. Work out terms agreeable to you both.
Read All About It: Read about indexing: There are several good books on how to index. 

Read the American Society of Indexers' newsletter, Key Words, and their numerous excellent publications on indexing.

See the Indexing Resources page for information on books and materials

Network: Join professional associations. If you live in New England, you'll want to join, or at least investigate: 
  • Massachusetts Chapter of the American Society of Indexers
  • Freelance Editorial Association
  • National Writers Union
  • Society of Technial Communication
Attend local and national conferences and workshops. 

Subscribe to and particpate in INDEX-L, an active and invaluable mailing list.

See the Indexing Resources page for information on these groups. 

Evaluate Indexes: Study indexes created by others. As practice, try indexing a book already containing an index, and compare your index with the published index. Don't assume the published index is a great index, or even a good one, as, unfortunately, many bad or inadequate indexes do get published. 

Once you get an indexing job, get some books out of the library on the same topic to see how others have handled similar types of entries. This is particularly helpful for subjects with which you aren't expert. The editor may offer a sample index for you to use as a guide. If not, ask for a sample that the author and/or publisher liked.

Specialize: Index materials in your field. Seek indexing assignments from publishers in fields you are knowledgeable about. You can use your knowledge as a marketing tool to get the work in the first place, and you'll find it much easier to index familiar material. Later on, you may choose not to specialize, or to expand your areas of specialization. 
Build on Your Strengths: Build on your current skills. If you are a copy-editor, you may be able to get work from publishers you currently do work for. If you are a writer, you can, of course, start by indexing your own work. If you are an avid cook, a physics teacher, or a corporation lawyer, look for indexing work in those fields. 
Talk to People: Let all your friends, colleagues, and relatives know you are seeking indexing work. Many jobs come through networking and word-of-mouth referrals.
For more information, please e-mail Marilyn Rowland.