What’s an Indexer?

When I go to networking events and am asked what I do, I often receive the response, “What’s an indexer?” The people I speak to know what an editor and a proofreader are, but many of them have never heard of an indexer. My quick response is, “You know the index that is in the back of the book? I wrote that.”

I have found that many people never give the index a second thought. They use it if they need to find something in the book, but they don’t really know how the index got there or why it is so good, or so poor. Those who have thought about where an index came from often think computers create indexes, but if they think harder about the issue, they realize indexes existed before computers.

Even more people are surprised about who pays for the index to be written. The author usually does.

So, what is an indexer?

An indexer is a person who reads a book and organizes the information, themes, ideas, and facts into an alphabetical list with terms that the average reader would look up. An index cannot be created by a computer because a computer cannot make a list of themes and other things that are not explicitly stated. Also, a computer cannot determine when something is mentioned in passing versus when something is the item of discussion. Therefore, an index must be created by a person.

As stated on The Book Deal, “No computer software program can provide on its own the professional skills of a good indexer…. Indexers also know the conventions and press specifications for providing a professional looking index. An amateurish or poorly executed index can damage the credibility of an otherwise well-written book.”

I have learned that I am rare.

I went to school to get a career in the publishing field. Many people I have met have degrees and were originally pursuing careers in other fields and fell into or were begged to cover a publishing position, and ended up staying and enjoying it. As Cheryl Lenser shares, she went to school to be a librarian, but couldn’t find a job and fell into indexing.

I went to school to get an undergraduate degree in English. Then, I obtained certificates in editing, book publishing, and professional editing. After this amount of education, I got my first job in the field as an assistant editor for a magazine. When a local university began offering a master’s degree in publishing, I applied and obtained the degree. In addition, I have completed several indexing courses offered by the USDA Graduate School and the University of California.

Though I did not plan to be an indexer from the beginning, I grew up loving books. I had originally wanted to be a teacher, but grew tired of the public school system. Then, I decided I wanted to write, but struggled making money writing creatively. So, I decided to become an editor. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be involved in the publishing of books. The process amazes me. There are so many people involved in the creation of something so beautiful and so wonderful.

I became an indexer to expand upon my services and to be able to further my education. I am a lover of learning, and I am continually finding new courses to take or certificates to complete. And being involved in the publishing business only furthers my love for the written word.