You will benefit from the services of an indexer if you are
an author of a nonfiction book
a publisher of nonfiction books
the editor of a journal or series
a government department with long and complex reports
an organization with multiple digital files
a service that maintains a database
someone with a multiple-page website
someone with any other source of information that needs to be findable
What will an indexer bring to my project?
Indexers are trained to write a comprehensive and useful index that will help your readers find information on significant topics. Indexers bring to the job
Experience – An indexer has analytical skills, knows the conventions, and knows how to apply them.
Readers’ point of view – An indexer has the users’ needs in mind and knows how to think from many angles.
Fresh eyes – An indexer comes to the text without preconceptions, reading it as it was written, not as it was imagined by its creator. The indexer is often the last reader before the text is published or goes live and sometimes finds missed errors. An indexer will report those errors to you so that you can feel confident about going to press.
Community – The indexers whom you find here have access to resources and colleagues. Not many people in Canada (or the world) have indexing skills, which is why we have a national organization with connections to international organizations.
How do I find an indexer?
Our registry of indexers provides background, specialties, and locations of indexers across the country. Indexers who are not able to take on your project will often suggest names of other indexers whom they recommend. Ask and we will help you find an indexer for your project.
How do I work with an indexer?
Working with an indexer may be the easiest part of writing your book. This free e-book gives you the process step by step.
How much will it cost?
Due to the range of complexity of the material, there are no hard and fast answers. Most indexers can give you an estimate if you tell them about the size and audience of your project, send them your manuscript, or send some sample chapters.
In Canada, editors, project managers and publishers seem very willing to share information about costs of indexes. Consider contacting colleagues and ask what they paid for similar projects.
The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is pleased to announce the 2022 recipient of the Tamarack Award. Lisa Fedorak (Vancouver) is being recognized for her contribution and commitment to the society.
Lisa was chosen for her warmth, her diligence, and her independent spirit. Lisa’s colleagues had the following to say about her:
I wanted Lisa to be given the Tamarack Award to acknowledge her courage and stamina. Through Lisa’s initiative and her untiring efforts, we are on a path to becoming better at our business.
Lisa is highly conscientious and has donated an enormous amount of energy to the ISC/SCI. Lisa is a team player who is always doing what she can to make things better for others.
[Lisa] is someone in the world you’re so grateful to have crossed paths with, and I appreciate her gifts of compassion, human values, and warmth.
Co-Presidents Alexandra Peace and Tere Mullin said: “We are thrilled to present this award to Lisa, and we are honoured to have her as a member of our society. Thank you, Lisa, for all you have given to the society and its membership.”
The Tamarack Award was instituted to recognize members who go “above and beyond the call of duty” in their volunteer work for the Society. Past recipients can be found on the website here: https://indexers.ca/isc-awards/
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador June 9-10, 2023
Murray Premises Hotel 5 Beck’s Cove, St. John’s, NL
Picture this: Steep streets lined with rows of art-inspiring brightly coloured maritime houses…a historic harbour…a world-class university…whales to watch…and other incredible things to do and see.
And in between all of that, the chance to boost your indexing skills, hone your business practices, and meet and reconnect with fellow indexers.
The Conference Venue
The conference will be held in the Murray Premises Hotel, situated in a National Historic Site on the St. John’s harbour front. Featuring nineteenth-century exposed masonry walls and wood beams, the hotel oozes charm. More about the venue.
Accommodations at the Murray Premises
The Murray Premises Hotel is offering special rates for conference attendees during the conference as well as 5 days before and 5 days after. The room rates before taxes:
$179.00 – Traditional Queen Guest Rooms
$189.00 – Traditional King Guest Rooms
$199.00 – Signature King Guest Rooms
$209.00 – Executive (Jacuzzi) Rooms
The room taxes are Tourism Marketing Levy (Room Tax) 4% and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) 15%.
For reservations, email info@murraypremiseshotel.com or call reservations at 1-709-738-7773 and quote the group block code (you will receive the code when you register).
Conference Program June 9 – 10
This is shaping up to be an exciting conference, with knowledgeable speakers and topics designed to help you grow your business. From live demonstrations to software explanations and a health session that focuses on one of our most important assets—our eyes—we promise you’ll go home enriched and renewed.
Five sessions on Friday June 9 will be followed by the Annual General Meeting at the end of the afternoon and then the Awards Banquet. Six speakers will be featured on Saturday June 10.
Friday, June 9
A Large Press’s View of Indexing. Phil Getz, Senior Editor at Palgrave Macmillan will give us the behind-the-scenes view of their operations.
A Musical Interlude. Paula Clarke Bain will discuss the art of indexing music, from scholarly works on classical music through to modern pop/rock trade biographies and memoirs.
You Had to Be There: Two Experienced Indexers Remember the Indexing Society of Canada Over the Years. The ISC/SCI has been serving the needs of Canadian indexers since the 1970s. Newer indexer Mercedes Brian will interview long-time members Ruth Pincoe and Gillian Watt about the Society, its history, their personal contributions to its development, and the benefits of belonging to a professional association.
Content Management with Auto-Tagging, Glenda Browne will show us how to use Mondeca to manage thesaurus, ontology, and auto-tagging.
Book Indexing: A Step-By-Step Guide, the writing of.Stephen Ullstrom shares his experience writing his soon-to-be-published (2023) book on indexing.
Annual General Meeting
Awards Banquet
Saturday, June 10
The Tamil Epicand Linked Indexes: A Study, Ronnie Seagren presents her experience with a straightforward indexing project that grew into a two-year saga. This project has implications for embedded indexes, e-book indexes, scoping a project, and more.
Running Your Business: Let Software Help. Pierke Bosschieter. shows us ways to improve your efficiency and your enjoyment of indexing using non-indexing software and devices.
Caring for Your Eyes. A guest presentation by Noubar Kara-Yakoubian (BSc, OD), from the Newfoundland And Labrador Association of Optometrists.
Project Management with MS Office: How to Keep Up with Your Workload,Sergey Lobachev shows us how to manage your workload so that you can retain more clients without losing your sanity.
William Lost-His-Pants and More Fun with Medieval Names. While the treatment of names and titles for nobility has been well covered in indexing manuals and handbooks, the by-names used in medieval Europe can pose special challenges. Jolanta Kormonicka will discuss medieval naming conventions, inverting names, and glossing of names.
Tips of the Trade, Mary Newberry. Tips and tricks for your indexing practice, featuring highlights from Mary’s own experiences, including what to do with the metatopic; how to sneak sub-sub entries into run-in formats; how to know what to index and how to point to ideas that are not directly indexed.
Award-winning indexer Stephen Ullstrom will index a scholarly article he has not previously read, and discuss his process as he works. This three-hour workshop is offered in addition to the conference program. The workshop runs from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Fireside Chat for New Indexers, Thursday June 8
This one hour session is a conference extra that takes place Thursday afternoon with Mary Newberry. New indexers are invited to ask their burning questions on transitioning from student to practising indexer. Collect your snack at 4 p.m. and bring it to the room for a 4:30 start time.
Iceberg Quest Boat Tour, Thursday June 8 – Full
Our Thursday icebreaker event involves real icebergs…and maybe whales and puffins too! Join us for a two-hour boat tour with Iceberg Quest from the St. John’s harbour. We’ll experience Cape Spear, Cabot Tower, and Fort Amherst from the sea, in an area that has the world’s largest concentration of humpback whales. The tour is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and it’s fully narrated.
Puffin-Palooza Ecological Reserve Tour, Wednesday June 7
Our pre-conference event takes you on one of the most spectacular sights in nature. Leaving historic St. John’s, we make our way south along the coast to the historic Irish community of Bay Bulls and a boat tour of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. This group of four islands is home to more than four million breeding seabirds and North America’s largest colony of Atlantic Puffin. The sheer number of birds is mind-boggling. Icebergs are possible this time of year, and if any are nearby we will certainly take time to enjoy it.
* Lunch is not included on this tour, so make sure to eat beforehand. A canteen with snacks & beverages is available on the boat, but packing snacks is also encouraged.
Pricing and Registration
Early Bird
After April 30
Members and Affiliates
$300
$340
—-Friday or Saturday only
$160
$180
Non-members
$350
$390
—-Friday or Saturday only
$180
$200
Students
$160
$160
—-Friday or Saturday only
$90
$90
Fireside Chat on Thursday
$10
$10
Workshop with Stephen Ullstrom on Sunday
$45
$45
Awards Banquet on Friday evening
$65
$65
Iceberg Quest Boat Tour Thursday
$99
Puffin-Palooza Boat Tour Wednesday
$172.50
Prices are in Canadian Dollars, all applicable taxes are included
Conference Scholarships for ISC/SCI Members
Applications closed. Thank you to everyone who applied.
Our June 9-10 conference in St. John’s was attended by 40 people from across Canada and US, England, Switzerland, and Australia. We met old friends and made new ones as we laughed, learned, and shared experiences and encouragement. You can find more photos in our conference album on Flickr. On Sunday, June 11, many attendees … […]
Time is running out if you want to save on your registration for the ISC/SCI conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Register by Sunday, April 30 to receive the Early Bird discount on your conference registration. Register today for the June 9-10 Conference as well as any of these optional events: Visit the conference page for … […]
The Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation invites you to join us at our annual conference on June 9 and 10, 2023, at the Murray Premises Hotel in St. John’s, Newfoundland. This year’s conference theme is “See also Newfoundland.” Special sessions include the following: Sessions on indexing practices include improving your efficiency (Pierke Bosschieter) and … […]
Make and renew connections. Meet indexers from all over the world. And explore Newfoundland. A great way to start planning your activities is to order a copy of the 2023 Traveller’s Guide and map. The guide is offered in English and French. And it’s free. Order the guide.
Come and ask your indexing questions at the ISC/SCI Annual Conference 2023 … and check out The Rooms. The Rooms is Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest public cultural space—full of history, heritage, and art. As their website explains: “The Rooms’ unique design mirrors the fishing rooms where families came together to process their catch.” What is … […]
ISC/SCI is pleased to announce that Conference 2023 will be held at the Murray Premises Hotel in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The hotel is located in the Murray Premises National Historic Site on the St. John’s waterfront. The site, which comprises three buildings, is typical of the type of commercial buildings that used to line the … […]
Are you coming to St. John’s, Newfoundland for the ISC/SCI conference in June? Make sure you allow extra time on the “rock” to visit the sights. Beyond the visitor’s centre, there are trails ranging from easy to strenuous where you can enjoy the views of the harbour and rugged coastal landscape. And if you book … […]
ISC/SCI is offering scholarships to three ISC/SCI members to help them attend the conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in June 2023. The scholarship will pay the two-day early-bird conference fee. You are eligible to apply if you meet both of these conditions: Preference will be given to new indexers, then those who have never attended … […]
Save the Date! June 9–10, 2023 Get your calendar out and mark the dates June 9 and 10, 2023, for the ISC/SCI’s annual conference (some pre- and post-conference events are also in the works, so you’ll want to consider saving some extra days too). The program team is pulling together great speakers and invaluable content—you’ll … […]
Marketing Strategies No One Talks About with Jen Weers and Gwen Henson
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
A good marketing plan for indexers should include more than a letter-writing campaign and the dreaded cold calls. Even savvy marketers are often missing a key part of their plan: establishing yourself as an expert. When faced with a multitude of indexers in the mix for a single project, you need to be proactive in proving you are the right person for the job.
In this webinar, you will: • explore out-of-the-box marketing tools for establishing yourself as an expert • learn how to be seen as an expert even with limited experience • identify different audiences for your message • hear from experts who have successfully used this concept • explore imposter syndrome and ways to see yourself as an expert, even if you don’t believe your own message
If you are a member of ISC/SCI, you can receive the member discount using the coupon code on the Member Benefits page.
The ISC/SCI will not be presenting the Ewart-Daveluy Indexing Award this year. While the committee is pleased with the number of submissions and the diversity of trade and scholarly books, we agreed unanimously that none of the indexes reach the level of excellence that merits the award.
All of the indexes do some things well. Specifically, most of the indexes are clearly structured and easy to navigate, include multiple and relevant access points, are clearly worded, and accurately map the contents of the text. These are qualities we expect in all professional indexes. All of these criteria and more are listed on the ISC/SCI website.
What we are looking for is that elusive quality of elegance. Elegance is that sense that there is an unusual clarity, a memorable ease of use, a succinctness, or even a strikingly simple presentation of difficult ideas. Another view of indexing elegance appears in the criteria for the ASI Excellence in Indexing Award: “Succinctness; the right word in the right place—even if the word isn’t found in the text; a certain ‘charm’; visual appeal; a sense that the index contains exactly what it needs to, no more, no less; simplicity; grace.”
We encourage indexers to strive for elegance. Take the extra time to go over the index once more. Tighten up the phrasing; search for the precise word, and imagine what readers might look for that you have not included. The index does not need to be perfect, but it does need to stand out. Give your index that final polish to make it shine!
Next year we will begin again to look for an elegant index. As you write indexes this year, look for that index that is almost there, the one that needs a bit more care, and then consider giving it the extra polish so that you can send it when submissions open in the fall.
Thank you to those who submitted indexes. As mentioned in the submission form, we will send summaries of our comments and suggestions.
