From Style Sheets to Space Limits: Talking to Your Indexer Pays Off

BISG’s Workflow Committee members spend a lot of time talking about processes, and that’s understandable. Publishing comprises a lot of steps. To accomplish the goal of publishing information via books or other media, publishers need documented processes in place. By sharing relevant processes with your vendor partners, you save your company valuable time and enhance your bottom line.

According to indexers I spoke with recently, while some publishers share their company’s processes, many do not. Professional indexers can independently make index design decisions that best fit each project, using standards and good practices. But receiving your guidelines means they can better align the finished product with your goals.

Specifically, indexers shared ways publishers can communicate so that they can more effectively provide the content you need.

Updated Stylesheet

Whether it is two pages or ten pages, a stylesheet enables you to communicate your house style and preferences to your vendors, which prevents misunderstandings and costly mistakes.

How long has it been since you updated your stylesheet? Does it reflect your current practice? Does it include the file type you need? For example, .rtf was formerly a commonly requested file type, but many houses now prefer .docx files. One indexer shared that she often receives outdated stylesheets that still reference floppy disks. Many stylesheets refer to older versions of style manuals. If your company uses The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition now, but your stylesheet tells the indexer to use CMOS 14, the index you receive may differ from your expectations. 

Uniqueness

If there is something unique or different about the book, let your indexer know early. Unusual books may need a creative approach to the index. Most indexers work with a variety of subjects and formats and may be able to offer you suggestions. If your book is an outlier for you, it may not be so for the indexer. One indexer mentioned that a press needed guidance on the indexing conventions for art books, which was a new area for that press. Most indexers enjoy such challenges as they like finding the right solution for each book and its audience.

Space Constraints

Indexers are skilled at creating a robust and full-fleshed index, but they can create a shorter one when you have space constraints. Telling vendors about known space limitations from the beginning enables them to create the best index that space allows. It is far easier for an indexer to work concisely from the beginning than to have to cut after the fact. If there is hard limit to the size of index, communicating that early saves everyone time and trouble. Line counts, actual pages allotted, percentage guidelines (five percent index, for example) are all typical ways to indicate space for the index.

Cutting Down an Index

However, if an index does need to be significantly cut down to fit into the pages allotted (even after the designer has worked their magic), it is best to ask the indexer to make those cuts, if time allows. Big cuts can affect the internal structure of the index and render it less usable. When an indexer makes cuts, they make those structural adjustments throughout the index.

In addition, “Indexers have a better sense of the structure of the book, because they have read it most recently,” Devon Thomas (DevIndexing) explained. “If the editor hasn’t read the whole book, they may be unfamiliar with the most important information to retain.” The indexer can quickly identify the entries that are most vital to the index and retain those, cutting those entries that, while nice to have, aren’t as necessary.

In fact, indexers may have already identified where they would cut if they needed to, meaning it may take very little time for them to turn around a shorter index. Furthermore, indexers may be able to tighten the index without cutting any content by changing simple parameters, such as switching from indented to run-in format, eliding page numbers, and removing duplicate page numbers with formatting for images or tables (i.e. 157fig,157t). Those three operations take only minutes.

Embedded Indexes

If you need an embedded index for an electronic version of the book, tell the indexer from the beginning and indicate what format you are working with. Not all indexers do embedded indexing, and those that do tend to work with specific platforms, such as Microsoft Word, InDesign, XML, and/or Latex. Each of these forms of embedded indexing requires specific tools and processes, so most indexers only work with one or two types. Ebook indexes created with embedded tags are more precise than indexes linked via an ebook conversion process, but the process requires more technical setup for both publisher and indexer.

Formatting Changes

Indexers use custom software for creating indexes, and, in most cases, it has robust features for global changes. Small style fixes (such as switching italic locators to bold for images) are a simple process for the indexer and can be handled globally in seconds. There is no need to have production staff make line changes, a costly fix.

Reflow

If the book needs to be repaginated at the last minute, it is important to communicate that to your indexer, as it will impact the locators in the index. Simple shifts, like adding one full page to a section, are easy for your indexer to adjust for with dedicated indexing software. Whole or part chapter swaps take more time but are eminently doable if the page swaps are clearly communicated.

Finally, it’s a good idea to acknowledge receipt of the index. An indexer related a situation where a publisher contacted her weeks after she had submitted the file asking where it was. Of course, the indexer had sent it by the deadline and was shocked to hear the file hadn’t been received.

Communication with your indexing vendors enables them to do their job more effectively, provides you with a better-quality product, saves you potentially costly mistakes, and enhances your reader’s experience.

To find a professional indexer, use the American Society for Indexing’s free Indexer Locator, which enables you to find an indexer for your project, or Jobs Hotline, which allows you to list your job and receive indexer estimates in return.

For a better understanding of best practice in indexing, download a free copy of ASI’s Best Practices for Indexing.

GWEN HENSON is the executive director of the American Society for Indexing. She has played a role in the publishing industry for more than thirty years. Gwen has produced more than sixty hours of educational webinars, has spoken at national and international conferences, and has served as a judge for national book awards.

Read the posts in our Workflow blog series: 

• Adding or Improving the Workflow of a Digital Product? Start at the End. by Shelby E. Jenkins
• On the Same Page: Building Strong Publisher–Vendor Partnerships by Rebecca Burgoyne and Tyler M. Carey
• Clear Lines, Smooth Workflows: Mastering Communication with Editorial Vendors by Michael Haskell

BISG's Workflow Committee is all about getting things done, as easy and efficiently as possible. We create a standard definition of workflow for the industry, documenting best practices, and identifying and creating resources to improve existing approaches. Click here to learn more or to view the meeting schedule.