Now that my new website is a reality it seems like the perfect opportunity to start this blog. The idea is to write informative and interesting posts on a variety of subjects, that should be of interest to authors, publishers, and indexers alike. As I hope to reach out to Dutch readers as well, I will alternate between English and Dutch posts as much as possible.
Because a good friend is thinking about starting a career as an indexer and because the NIN (Nederlands Indexers Netwerk) could use a few new members, the blog is especially geared towards aspiring indexers.
As most people haven’t a clue about indexing or what it entails, I want to offer the reader insights into the profession. I just name a few subjects that will be tackled in the future:
- how do I go about making an index;
- what hardware and software is used to support this process;
- what are the rules of the trade and when to deviate from them;
- what are the benefits and pitfalls of indexing as a freelance career;
- how and where does the indexer fit in the publishing process;
- how to keep up with changes in the indexing practice;
- CPD (Continuing Professional Development);
- international perspectives on indexing;
- news and international conferences.
Along the way I will try to find an answer to a question that has bugged me since I started out as an indexer in 2005. Why isn’t there a demand for professional indexers working in Dutch? Most Dutch books don’t have indexes or only simple names indexes. Wouldn’t it be great to give the Dutch reading public access to general subject indexes?
I will keep you posted, once every two weeks, on all the above and more. You can get email notifications of new posts by subscribing in the box at the top right of the page. Hope you’ll join me.
For decades, I have wondered about the same question, which is actually a chicken-and-egg problem: Wouldn’t it be great to give the ***Chinese*** reading public access to general subject indexes? Chinese indexes do exist, but they are mostly found in scholarly works such as encyclopedias. Translations of English books normally have their indexes chopped out.
I look forward to following your blog, at least the English portions.
Hi Robert, Thanks for your comment. As blogging is new to me I forgot to approve your comment, so it’s only showing up today (26th of September). Sorry for that! I am travelling to a Chinese indexing conference in October. I will raise the subject with the indexers there and will get back to you with their answers.