Editors Victoria

For editors, compiling an index is one of those skills usually left to professional indexers or authors. But when a simple index is required, editors should actively consider taking on the job themselves.

The purpose of this course is to equip editors, particularly freelancers, with the skills necessary to compile a relatively simple index, thereby expanding their skillset and boosting their employability.

Using a combination of theory and practical exercises, this one-day course will cover:
* An overview of indexing – what it is and what it is not
* The purpose of an index
* Identifying the audience
* The attributes of a good (or bad) index
* Back-of-book indexes, embedded indexes, e-book indexes
* Indexing software
* Number of indexes
* Subject terms (keywords/main headings)
* Names (personal, organisational, geographic)
* Subheadings (prepositions and conjunctions; set-out and run-on styles)
* Cross-references (see and see also)
* Filing order (punctuation, numerals, contractions)
* Style issues (initial articles, page spans, illustrations)
* Editing the index (before sending it to the editor); and
* A group indexing exercise.

Participants will have plenty of opportunities to ask questions about any aspect of indexing.

The course will also provide participants with information about additional courses they may take, if they are interested in pursuing indexing in more depth.

BOOKINGS CLOSE: 13 August 2018