A review on The business side of indexing

Author: Elizabeth Wallis

Volume: 14, No: 4, Year: 1987

This is a good research paper exploring the business attitude of solitary indexing. The advantage of the freedom offered may be negated by the uncertainty and irregularity of the workflow. The time, regularity, position and approach of a freelance is very critical, because he is the supreme of the subject. It is very important to identify or to meet the requirement of the client; the people are different in their own way, which might be directly proportional to the requirement. They will, however, all have the same expectation that you are going to give them the index they want. So it is up to the freelancer to elucidate the brief in order to satisfy the customer. No freelancer will stay in business without providing a high level of satisfaction.

There are factors that affect the work of the freelancer, commission is the basic one, and very important to survive. Obtaining commissions may be a matter of judgment, luck, or common sense and at different times, no doubt, each in turn, or an amalgam of all three. The person who chooses his career as a freelance indexer, might have either previous experience from their surroundings or the desire to work independently at home is attractive at some times in life and inevitable for many, especially women. Many people choose indexing at home as an answer to their unemployment, financial problems, or boredom. None of these motivations in themselves is a good enough reason for taking up indexing.

There are specific reasons for indexing, as a business, the freelancer should have enormous ideas and knowledge about indexing. An important subject is copyright. Copyright subsists in an index. The question of ownership of copyright should be raised when the indexer and publisher are negotiating the contract. If the indexer agrees to part with the copyright, then he should make a written assignment, where the publisher can enjoy the maximum protection. Based on the copyright, the publisher can make an agreement with the indexer also the publisher can induce some instructions. There are other criteria, including Delivery of index, fees, expenses, Tax concessions, and Complaints. There are many easier ways of earning money than compiling indexes. The sporadic nature of the commissions means that there will be periods of intense activity followed by periods when you may feel you may never be asked to compile another index. Some indexers work flat out all the time; to cope with this type of pressure you have to have good health, strong nerves, remarkable eyesight, and the right sort of temperament for the job.