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Editing indexes
The editing process consists of tasks concerned with ensuring the accuracy, consistency and usability of an index, such as creating, deleting, rewording, regrouping, and verifying entries, and tasks such as spell checking and checking the accuracy of locators, which some may consider to be proofreading or copyediting tasks. Editing may involve many parties, including the author, the indexer and editors at the publisher. Here, we are concerned mostly with tasks performed by the indexer.
Although any editing task can be performed at any time, the basic nature of the editing process changes over time. The differences in emphasis are significant enough that editing to be viewed as a two-phase process.
The first phase occurs prior to the completion of the first draft of the index. During this period, the indexer's focus is on discovering the appropriate structure for the index. Entries may have been created for at least a third or more of a document before the indexer evolves a structure that feels right. Until that feeling develops, a lot of time may be spent rewording and regrouping entries. Once an appropriate structure has been discovered, the time spent rewording and regrouping diminishes because new entries fall into place more surely than before.
Editing's second phase begins after the first draft has been completed. During this period, the indexer's focus is on formal aspects of the index and on its coherence and its consistency. Things that need to be checked during this period are common across indexes. As a result, indexers typically develop checklists such as the following for editing during this phase.
| Index element | Question(s) to be answered |
|
Alphabetization Capitalization Cross-references Double postings Function words Indentation Introductory notes Length Long multilevel headings Main headings Names Over-analysis Page locators Page ranges Personal names Punctuation Qualifiers Repititious wording See references Spelling Style Subheadings Term selection Undifferentiated references User friendliness Wording |
Are main headings in strict alphabetical order? Are entries differing only in capitalization valid? Are they properly placed? Have they been verified? Are they mirror images? Are they necessary? Are they correctly placed? Is it consistent? Is one needed to explain unusual features? Is it appropriate? Have line limits been checked? Can the number of subheadings be reduced? Are they consistently singular or plural? Have mentioned ones been consistently ex/included? Do most subheadings have only 1 page reference? Are they within bounds and accurate? Are there incomplete entries, e.g., 114-? Are two or more people treated as one? Is it in accordance with publisher's guidelines? Have they been used to prevent ambiguity? Have lines used to indicate it been eliminated? Should any be double-posted instead? Has the spelling of all entries been checked? Is it in accordance with publisher's guidelines? Are page numbers the same? Is there only one? Does the index's scope, depth parallel the text's? Can long strings be replaced by subheadings? Have likely mistakes been anticipated? It is precise, consise, appropriate for the audience? |
| bottom row | |
One item in the checklist refers to using lines to indicate repitition of words that appear at the beginning of entries and are similar in spelling. This practice was once common but is now generally frowned upon. The following exemplifies unedited and edited postings of such entries:
| Unedited entries | Edited entries |
|
French Canadians, ... ------- fries, ... ------- horns, ... |
French Canadians, ... French fries, ... French horns, ... |
| bottom row | |
Guidelines for editing indexes:
- Allocate enough time for editing. Indexers often spend 30% to 40% of their time on editing tasks. If the editing process includes an author review prior to submitting the index to the publisher, the percentage of time can grow signficantly.
- Avoid having to make last-minute additions. Trying to locate references after the fact can be extremely time-consuming. It is much better to be in a position to delete or consolidate entries.
- Treat similar topic similarly. For example: if one city name if followed by a long string of undifferentiated references and another by an array of subheadings, consider converting the references to comparable subheadings.
- Have the author focus on the conceptual content of the index. Authors are subject matter experts, not professional indexers. Indexers should have performed the tasks in the checklist prior to forwarding the index for review by the author and they should inform the author of constraints established by the editor. Authors should not have to worry about things such as spelling and placement of cross-references. Their time is best spent assessing the content of the index and its appropriateness for the text and intended audience. They should recommend but not make changes.
- Leave substantive editing to the indexer. Substantive editing may easily destroy complex structural relationships in the index. Nobody understands those relationships better than the indexer who created them.
- Resolve unanswered questions. This may require talking to the author or editor.