Working Together

Because I am often booked up a couple of months in advance, it’s good to contact
me as soon as you know you’ll need an index. With enough advance notice, I can often juggle my indexing schedule to accommodate your project.

When you contact me regarding a possible indexing project, I will need the following information:

• The subject of the book
• Its publisher
• The number of pages it’s expected to be once it’s printed
• The date when page proofs will be available
• The length of time the publisher has allotted for the index
• Contact info for author and editor
• Whether PDF files of the book are available as well

When authors hire me, I use a contract which outlines my fees, working methods, and payment schedule. I charge a per-page rate, based on the number of pages in page proofs. Thus, as soon as page proofs arrive from the publisher, both author and indexer have a good idea of what the total cost will be. However, because I accept work sight unseen, I reserve the right to charge up to $1.00 more per page for unusually dense material (defined as over 10 entries per page as counted by my indexing software). This level of density requires a substantial increase in the amount of inputting, editing, and proofreading.

Payment in full is due within thirty days of satisfactory completion of the index. I require no deposit if an author or publisher plans to pay me from their own funds. However, if a third party – such as a university department or special account – will be paying for the index, I ask that, along with the signed contract, the author send a personal check to me for 1/4 of the total estimated amount. The deposit ensures that, following the index’s completion, the author remains committed to seeing that the third party pays the bill in a timely fashion, as I shall return the deposit in full if payment is received within thirty days but deduct a small penalty fee if it is late.

My job is finished when I submit the final, professional index to the author a couple of days before the index is due at the Press. However, I am willing to make any alterations to the index that the author provides in writing no later than 24 hours before the index is due at the publisher’s. After hearing from the author, I generally submit an electronic version of the index to the publisher and enclose a complete list of the typos and inconsistencies I’ve found as I’ve worked with the text.