Re: hiring an indexer (semi-long)

[Lori Lathrop <76620 -dot- 456 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM>]

All -- I meant to respond to this yesterday ... but I got sidetracked with other
"stuff" (like getting an index out the door).  Now that it's the week-end (which
doesn't mean I don't have to work on an index), I'll try to respond to this
thread.

In response to Hillary Jones (hillary -at- NICHIMEN -dot- COM) ... It seems that the people
who responded to you privately gave you some good advice.  :-)  About the
cost/benefit ratio you need to convince your boss ... please tell your boss that
an index is just as important to the documentation as the documentation is to
the product.  If the documentation is poor, the product and even your company
may lose credibility.  Likewise, if the index is not up to par, your
documentation, your product, and your company may lose credibility.  Of course,
the credibility factor translates into customer satisfaction and the
all-important bottom line ($$$).  That should help convince your boss.  :-)

In response to Melissa Hunter-Kilmer (mhunterk -at- bna -dot- com), who said:
>>I'm sure Lori Lathrop will tell us this, right, Lori?  :-) >> ...
You're on to me!  ;-)  I can't possibly resist such an outright invitation!
You're absolutely right that indexing is a skill separate from writing and that
no app can possibly do as good a job as a human indexer (assuming that indexer
has good indexing skills).  The "processing" it takes to create a quality index
happens "between the ears" - not on your hard drive!  :-)

In response to Deborah Shaw (shawd -at- mindspring -dot- com) ...  Great advice!  BTW, the
American Society of Indexers (ASI) is *not* in New York; it's in Seattle (P.O.
Box 48267, Seattle, WA  98148-0267 / e:mail: ASI -at- well -dot- com).  I don't have the
address for IASC (Indexing and Abstracting Society of Canada) handy, but I
believe I have a link to it from my Web site (http://idt.net/~lathro19 ... note:
that's a "nineteen" at the end of the URL).

BTW, if you're looking for tips on how to create a great index, you can find
that info on my Web site as well.

A few words about professional indexers ...  Many of us belong to ASI, which
currently has a membership of approximately 1400; of course, there are indexing
organizations in other countries as well: the Australian Society of Indexers
(AusSI), the Society of Indexers (S.I.) in the U.K. and Ireland; and the
Indexing and Abstracting Society of Canada (IASC).  You can get info on any of
these organizations from the ASI Web site (http://www.well.com/user/asi).  Also,
many professional indexers (as well as new indexers) subscribe to INDEX-L; to
subscribe, send an e-mail message to listserv -at- bingvmb -dot- cc -dot- binghamton -dot- edu ... and,
in the first line of the message, write:  SUBSCRIBE INDEX-L <your name>

Some professional indexers are proficient with stand-alone indexing software
(such as CINDEX or Macrex) as well as with FrameMaker, Word, Doc-To-Help,
RoboHelp, WinHelp, and other tools.  BTW, if you're indexing FrameMaker docs, I
highly recommend an add-on product called IXgen developed by Frank Stearns
Associates (http://pacifier.com/!franks/ixmid.html) ... and, no, I don't get a
commission if you decide to buy it.  :-)

About selecting an indexer ... that's a very important decision, and you should
approach it in the same way as you would approach hiring any other professional.
Get samples of the indexer's work, get a list of projects the indexer has worked
on recently, get references, and make sure the indexer has some technical
background that lends itself to a good understanding of your documentation.
Most importantly, don't ignore your own "hunches" if you're not completely
comfortable with anything the prospective indexer provides.

What will the indexer want from you?  Wow ... where should I start?!!  When you
ask indexers to bid on your project, you should be prepared to provide an
accurate description of what you need, an estimate on the number of pages in
each document, a sample (at least a chapter or two) of your documentation, and a
realistic schedule (so the indexer can block off enough time for your project).


So far, we haven't talked much about indexing tools.  If you want the indexer to
embed index markers in your files, you should try to find a professional indexer
who already knows how to use Framemaker or Word or whatever software you're
using.  Also, if you want embedded tags, be prepared to pay the indexer more
than you would pay for an index created with a stand-alone tool (like CINDEX or
Macrex), which allows the indexer to deliver the index in a variety of formats
(like RTF, WordPerfect, etc.).

You may be wondering why it will cost more to have an indexer embed tags in your
documents ... so I'll tell you!  When you're embedding tags, you are "indexing
blind."  In other words, you do not see what the formatted index really looks
like until you generate the document and get a printout.  That means that you
will have to devote *much* more time to editing the index than you would if you
were using stand-alone indexing software, which allows you to see the formatted
index at any time.  (BTW, that's an advantage of using IXgen as well.)

I hope I've answered most of your questions.  Please feel free to let me know if
I failed to respond to anything you'd like to know about hiring an indexer.

Happy indexing ...  Lori
(Vice President-President Elect, American Society of Indexers)
********************************************************************
Lori Lathrop ---------->INTERNET:76620 -dot- 456 -at- compuserve -dot- com
Lathrop Media Services, P.O. Box 3065, Idaho Springs, CO  80452
Office: 303-567-4447, ext. 28 / Fax: 303-567-9306
URL - http://idt.net/~lathro19 ... note: that's a "nineteen")
********************************************************************

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