Ask the Indexers: what do you enjoy most about indexing?

Photograph of library shelves full of books with ceiling lights to illuminate them

Our panel of expert indexers tell us what they enjoy most about indexing, and what continues to make it meaningful or rewarding for them.

Kate McIntosh, Advanced Professional Member

My brain likes lists and order and patterns and indexing satisfies that.

Samantha Clark, Advanced Professional Member

I enjoy organising information and making it accessible to people, and the feeling that I have produced a useful product. I like the freedom to turn down work if I have too much to do or need to concentrate on other aspects of my life (although not having work when I would like some can be frustrating and worrying). I enjoy contact with other Indexers, getting advice and hearing their questions about how to tackle different problems. I love learning a lot about a very niche subject that I would never have even thought about otherwise (I know a lot about Indian gay nightlife, and also the Swedish foreign service!!).

Christine Boylan, Advanced Professional Member

I enjoy reading and probably learn at least one new thing in every book I index. I love being my own boss, being able to turn down work that does not interest me and choosing to work at any time of day. The very occasional grateful author or editor makes it worthwhile although this is very rare but a lovely surprise when it comes. I like that fact that each job has a definite end, you send off the index and hope to not hear about it again. I am usually pretty bored with a project when the index is finally submitted and am ready for a new challenge moving onto another job on a completely different topic which gets me motivated again.

Geraldine Begley, Advanced Professional Member

I enjoy working on books on a diverse range of topics that I wouldn’t normally have access to and I learn something new.

Every day is different and presents new challenges to keep me on my toes, from checking how to index foreign names to editing the index.

I like that I have the flexibility to work the hours that suit me but still have time to complete an index to meet deadlines.

Susan Vaughan, Advanced Professional Member

I studied archaeology at university and spent several years doing fieldwork and research. I feel fortunate that I can keep up to date with recent discoveries and thinking on the subject, and get paid for it. I also value the flexibility that I have to organise my own time.

Ann Hudson, Fellow

When people ask me about indexing, I always describe it as ‘being paid to read books’. Occasionally I have had a book to index which I would probably have read anyway, and then indexing is a real delight.

But many texts, even if they are firmly in one’s specialist subject areas, can be less enjoyable to plough through. They may be tedious and pedantic, on a topic that is of no personal interest, express views with which one strongly disagrees, or just be badly written or edited. But there is still great satisfaction to be had from enhancing the value of a text through providing an efficient tool to guide the reader to the material they need.

Most readers don’t pay much attention to indexes, complaining when they are inadequate but taking them for granted when they work well. But indexing is a complex art which demands careful consideration of how to deal with the specific difficulties which almost any text will throw up. Working out the best solution to a knotty problem is always a source of great pleasure and satisfaction. And indexers love to get together to chew over such matters, improving their skills by gaining from each other’s experience.

Linda Haylock, Advanced Professional Member

One of the most enjoyable aspects to indexing is that moment when the index finally starts to come together in the editing stage. When you input terms during the indexing phase there can be an uncoordinated mess. Different terms that mean the same thing, headings that you know could be phrased better, decisions over whether to make a subheading a main heading also, things to look up, cross references that don’t gel, etc, etc. 99.9% of the time, editing gives some much needed clarity and consistency and I feel as though I’m submitting a well-structured index.

Of course I enjoy it when an editor replies ‘This looks wonderful, thank you’ or an author contacts the publisher to pass on a message of thanks for a ‘really good index’.

And the payment going into my bank account is always meaningful and rewarding ☺

Valeria Padalino, Advanced Professional Member

One of the things I enjoy most about indexing is the moment when a book’s structure finally reveals itself. There is usually a point, sometimes quite late in the process, when the themes settle into place, the connections become clear, and the index begins to take on a coherent shape. That moment of clarity is immensely satisfying. It feels as though the text has opened up and allowed me to understand how it really works.

I also enjoy the unexpected discoveries that come with each project. Even when I am working on a subject I believe I know well, I often encounter a detail, perspective, or historical thread that is entirely new to me.

What continues to make indexing meaningful is the knowledge that the finished index genuinely helps readers navigate a book. It is a small but important contribution to how a text is used and understood. Even after several projects, that sense of usefulness, combined with the intellectual pleasure of making sense of complex material, remains a consistent reward

Rob Gibson, Advanced Professional Member

Some of the many things I enjoy about indexing:

The process – methodically working through the book
The creativity – shaping index entries that best reflect the content and tone
The variety – every book is different, both in subject matter and in the indexing challenges it throws up
The people – authors tend to be lovely people, and publishers too
The community – indexers are friendly and collegiate
The independence – working for yourself means being able to choose what to take on
The flexibility – to work when, and in whatever location, suits you best

Joanna Penning, Advanced Professional Member

The intellectual challenges; the excitement of potential new projects arriving in my inbox; the interesting, dedicated people. I even enjoy the, admittedly, geeky requirements of organising my stationery, notebooks and fluorescent pens.

This post is part of our Ask the Indexers series. The previous post asked about what made them become an indexer.

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