Sorry, this blog is not indexed
I almost wrote my own index, to somebody else’s book. Working on a biography, I kept needing to locate one specific fact, or track down one specific person. I needed an index.
But as Alex Beam discusses here (thanks to GalleyCat for the link), indexes are on the wane. Authors have to pay for them, and authors usually think everyone will want to read the entire book. Indeed, when I saw in a draft contract that I would have to supply the index (either write it myself or pay someone to do it -- only under pressure will a publisher find you an indexer and charge you for it), I debated skipping the index myself.
But knowing how much I've cursed others for doing so, I'm going to suck it up and pay for an index. Now: if only I can find a struggling graduate student to exploit!
Join the discussion at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/johnclaytonoutreach/
But as Alex Beam discusses here (thanks to GalleyCat for the link), indexes are on the wane. Authors have to pay for them, and authors usually think everyone will want to read the entire book. Indeed, when I saw in a draft contract that I would have to supply the index (either write it myself or pay someone to do it -- only under pressure will a publisher find you an indexer and charge you for it), I debated skipping the index myself.
But knowing how much I've cursed others for doing so, I'm going to suck it up and pay for an index. Now: if only I can find a struggling graduate student to exploit!
Join the discussion at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/johnclaytonoutreach/
