Indexing 101 with Elizabeth Bartmess and Michele Combs MONDAY! October 20 at noon (PT) on Zoom REGISTER Nobody can deny that indexes bring essential value to nonfiction works. An index is a book’s detailed “roadmap,” allowing the reader to locate specific information and transforming the book from a linear narrative into a functional, searchable reference whose content can be quickly retrieved and deeply explored. Achieving this goal requires the skill of a professional indexer. Rather than just plucking terms from a document, an indexer reads the entire book, analyzes and extracts substantive terms and concepts, chooses appropriate phrasing, and adds cross-references to help the reader effectively navigate the index. Indexing is both a craft that uses specific tools and an intuitive art that involves understanding, conceptualizing, and organizing access to a book in a way that’s true to the nature of the book. It anticipates where readers will look for information. Whether [...]