8416 Elko Drive
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410/480-0997
About
Since 1994 I've indexed more than 450 books and many annual and semi-annual volumes of scientific and medical journals. Publishers tend to use my services more than once.
My liberal arts education gave me the fundamentals for indexing. Although I focused on political science, I also studied music theory, the sciences, and art history. After earning a graduate degree in library science, I studied arts and crafts at several prestigious schools. I'm always learning. I have a shelf of medical and other reference books to consult when I need to learn more.
Using the most recent version of Cindex (software written specifically for indexing), which handles the mechanical details of indexing such as punctuation, alphabetization and other index formatting specifics, I am free to focus on the creative part of the job.
I know the publishing process and its various standards, style guides, deadlines, and submission formats. Indexer Pilar Wyman and I developed and presented a workshop on Indexing Style Guides to the American Medical Writers Association and to the annual conference of the American Society of Indexers.
I continue to learn about indexing at workshops and conferences and have found the conventions have evolved over time. I do this to provide your book and its readers with the best access to the information you provide in it.
The author is the subject expert. I am the indexing expert. Although an author will naturally be concerned that the index will contain the subjects covered in the book, the author need not do anything to ensure this. That's the indexer's job. I read the entire book and consider each section of each page to determine what needs to be included. In short, it's unnecessary for you to supply me with a list of terms to be included: I will find them.
I have written on various topics for Key Words (Bulletin of the American Society of Indexers) and read it regularly to learn from my colleagues. I subscribe to Internet listservs where indexing is discussed by an international group of indexers and to others about how to use our software to achieve the results our clients require. I also subscribe to The Indexer, an international journal produced by the Society of Indexers in the United Kingdom. I have participated in the peer review process provided through the IndexPeers listserv.
I have served the Mid- and South-Atlantic Chapter of the American Society of Indexers (MSASI) as treasurer, vice chair, and as chair - more than once.
In 2005, I served as one of seven ASI/H.W. Wilson Award judges to honor excellence in indexing for indexes published in 2004. In 2005-2006, I served as chair of that same committee, judging indexes published in 2005.
I am a member of the Order of Kohlrabi for significant service to the advancement of indexers and indexing. (At an ASI annual conference, someone likened indexers to kohlrabi because 'no one knows what they are or what to do with them.' Recognizing the joke, the American Society of Indexers presented Kohlrabi pins to members who volunteered in various capacities for the Society.)
I have participated in discussion panels at the ASI conference on topics such as The Business of Indexing, Scholarly Indexing, and Tips on Using Cindex Software.
