Setting rates is often up to indexers — we get a query about a project and respond with a quote. Sometimes, though, it works the other way around, and we get approached with a rate from a potential client. When the rate is just fine, our answer is mainly determined by our schedules and our […]
Making the Most of the New Year
It’s unavoidable in January. Along with sending kids back to school, tax prep, and for many, snow, the start of a new year brings with it a chance to evaluate ourselves and our businesses. Articles on goal setting and resolutions are everywhere, with advice on topics from losing 20 pounds to gaining 20 new clients. My own goals are still […]
The Why of Your Freelance Career
I know most folks in freelance businesses (in publishing or elsewhere) focus on what they have to offer, presenting their services like products on a shelf in the store and advertising the availability and quality of those same services through social media and/or advertising. But before you put those services on the shelf, make sure […]
Team Indexing Projects
Here at PI, we occasionally need working up a proposal for a periodical indexing job. Lots of book indexers also index professional journals, magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals. The publishers count on indexers to do annual indexes as well as longer cumulative indexes for these publications. The big challenge for these indexes is to provide […]
Tools for Working on the Go
One of the oft-touted benefits of freelance life is the ability to work anywhere. (Of course, being expected to work anywhere can be one of its drawbacks!) While my home office is the easiest and most comfortable place for me to work, it’s not always a possibility. Sometimes, I even find getting out of the house is the best way to overcome “indexer’s block.” There are […]
Time Management: When you Can’t, Don’t
I recently wrote about time management, saying I like to do as much as I can, when I can. Life is unpredictable, and I need the security of knowing I’ve built in some emergency buffer. Focus is also easier when there’s a ticking clock—kind of a short-term version of deadline pressure—or when I know I only have to […]
