Indexing: adding to the editor’s skillset

 

Presenter: Max McMaster

Friday, 02 August 2019 10am to 4pm
Belconnen Arts Centre
Cost: $250 (members); $400 (non-members)

About the course

Register now at TryBooking

For editors, compiling an index is one of those skills usually left to professional indexers or authors. But when a simple index is required, editors should actively consider taking on the job themselves.

The purpose of this course is to equip editors, particularly freelancers, with the skills necessary to compile a relatively simple index, thereby expanding their skillset and boosting their employability.

Using a combination of theory and practical exercises, this one-day course will cover:

  • An overview of indexing – what it is and what it is not
  • The purpose of an index
  • Identifying the audience
  • The attributes of a good (or bad) index
  • Back-of-book indexes, embedded indexes, e-book indexes
  • Indexing software
  • Number of indexes
  • Subject terms (keywords/main headings)
  • Names (personal, organisational, geographic)
  • Subheadings (prepositions and conjunctions; set-out and run-on styles)
  • Cross-references (see and see also)
  • Filing order (punctuation, numerals, contractions)
  • Style issues (initial articles, page spans, illustrations)
  • Editing the index (before sending it to the editor)
  • A group indexing exercise

Participants will have plenty of opportunities to ask questions about any aspect of indexing.

The course will also provide participants with information about additional courses they may take, if they are interested in pursuing indexing in more depth.

Register now at TryBooking. Lunch and morning/afternoon tea provided.

About the presenter

Max McMaster has been a full-time freelance book indexer for the past 27 years, having compiled over 2500 indexes on a range of subjects including the sciences, environment, business and social sciences, as well as general trade titles. Max lectures on indexing to editors in Australia and Singapore. He has been an instructor for the University of California Berkeley Extension virtual indexing course for the past eight years. He has been awarded the ANZSI Medal for book indexing on three occasions.

 
 
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