There is a special gene that was given out to help the world relay information in a clear organized fashion. I always thought that editors were the chosen recipients, now I understand that the "indexers" were also given that blessing! Thank you for writing about this important art.
Thank you so much for that shout-out, Sally! I look forward to hearing what Gina has to say.
One point for authors who write their own indexes: Forget that you wrote the book, and approach the material as if you were a reader/user who never saw it before. What might you be looking for? Put all that in your index! And don't trust a computer publishing program to find it all and arrange it for you usefully, without a lot of extra work on your part (as Nava says).
PS: For those interested in the subject, there's a terrific book by Dennis Duncan called "Index, A History of The" that came out first in Britain, then in the US in 2022 (in paperback in 2023).
I appreciate this in-the-weeds topic! I'm fascinated with indexes. When I repackaged one of my cookbooks that had gone out of print, my daughter figured out how to make an index with a tool included in InDesign, and it turned out well. It was still a lot of work and needed careful editing. But that wouldn't work in the case of a book without a lot of heads and subheads. As a reader, I'm always so surprised and disappointed when a work of nonfiction (such as a biography) has no index. It makes the book so much less useful, especially if it's being used for the purpose of research.
It helped with making it consistent and identifying headers, making the page #s clickable for ebooks, but there was still a lot of manual work involved.
Great topic! How do you feel about the importance of listing ingredients like strawberries or bananas vs categories like cakes vs desserts or salads in an index? Some cookbook indices are hard to follow. I usually end up flipping page by page in a section if I can't find the ingredient in the index.
I think both are important! If there were limited space constraints, I would choose an index of ingredients over categories, but I prefer to include both when I can.
Thank you for calling out the unsung heroes, Sally. A good index is truly so important, especially in a cookbook (it's important to typeset it properly, too, so that all of that painstaking organizational work is captured accurately). Lovely to see Gina here 👋 I look forward to your skill-building session!
There is a special gene that was given out to help the world relay information in a clear organized fashion. I always thought that editors were the chosen recipients, now I understand that the "indexers" were also given that blessing! Thank you for writing about this important art.
Thank you so much for that shout-out, Sally! I look forward to hearing what Gina has to say.
One point for authors who write their own indexes: Forget that you wrote the book, and approach the material as if you were a reader/user who never saw it before. What might you be looking for? Put all that in your index! And don't trust a computer publishing program to find it all and arrange it for you usefully, without a lot of extra work on your part (as Nava says).
PS: For those interested in the subject, there's a terrific book by Dennis Duncan called "Index, A History of The" that came out first in Britain, then in the US in 2022 (in paperback in 2023).
I saw that book and meant to link it. Thanks!
Excellent advice!
I appreciate this in-the-weeds topic! I'm fascinated with indexes. When I repackaged one of my cookbooks that had gone out of print, my daughter figured out how to make an index with a tool included in InDesign, and it turned out well. It was still a lot of work and needed careful editing. But that wouldn't work in the case of a book without a lot of heads and subheads. As a reader, I'm always so surprised and disappointed when a work of nonfiction (such as a biography) has no index. It makes the book so much less useful, especially if it's being used for the purpose of research.
Is that how she designed it or planned the organization of it?
It helped with making it consistent and identifying headers, making the page #s clickable for ebooks, but there was still a lot of manual work involved.
Right okay; that makes sense
I'm obsessed with indexes (such a nerd), so I'm looking forward to your workshop!
A good index in a cookbook is such a gift!! Glad you’re getting into this.
Adding "organizational hospitality" in my daily vocabulary. :)
Great topic! How do you feel about the importance of listing ingredients like strawberries or bananas vs categories like cakes vs desserts or salads in an index? Some cookbook indices are hard to follow. I usually end up flipping page by page in a section if I can't find the ingredient in the index.
I think both are important! If there were limited space constraints, I would choose an index of ingredients over categories, but I prefer to include both when I can.
Thank you for calling out the unsung heroes, Sally. A good index is truly so important, especially in a cookbook (it's important to typeset it properly, too, so that all of that painstaking organizational work is captured accurately). Lovely to see Gina here 👋 I look forward to your skill-building session!
Can’t wait to see you there!
A book index: such an underrated, and yet so so important part of a book!
Don’t we know it! ;)
Loved seeing your white board system!! So simple yet so effective!