It seems to be as hard for a novice indexer to find the first job in law indexing as it is for a new graduate to find a place in chambers, and yet every indexer of legal materials I know is buried under the workload. Sub-contracting work to 'apprentices' can help everyone, by relieving the experienced indexer (E) of the routine bits, and helping the novice (N) to become familiar with legal materials.
Preparation of tables of cases, statutes, delegated legislation and European legislation is a good beginning. These require basic intelligence to recognise which is a case, statute etc, incredibly accurate typing and a high boredom threshold, all traits essential to cultivate in an aspiring indexer. Entries can be made into any word processing programme and then transferred by disk to E's indexing system. E can then check as required and edit, and retains overall control and responsibility.
Legal materials require updating whenever there is new legislation or appeal decisions which change precedents. This is the goose that lays the golden egg for legal indexers. Many law publisher/indexer arrangements include a gentlemen's agreement whereby although copyright is assigned to the publisher only the original indexer will be asked to undertake the revision. I use MACREX to put the original index into page number order and work from that. Sometimes the new text arrives as manuscript copies with the amendments and changes marked, and sometimes it arrives as pristine new copy. The difficulty with the latter is that each line of each page needs to be scrutinised for changes. Matching old copy against new, and marking the original page breaks is a job for N. A minor problem can arise in that page proofs and original publication may have to travel from E to N to E which could cost more in postage than the job is worth!
Many publishers, but not all, return the index galleys for proof checking, usually for return instantly if not before. With indentation, concatenation as well as normal spelling and sense checks to be done, a fair knowledge of indexing theory is required of the proofreader. Just the thing for N. Looking at indexes is an essential part of learning the craft, and to be paid for it at the same time . . .
Morag and Ian Lithgow used to live in Swindon, a mere 15 minutes from my home in Marlborough. They were my Scottish country dancing teachers. Ian helped me out a couple of times with my ignorance of computer innards and it became obvious that here were two intelligent and competent persons with the desire to keep their minds active in early retirement, and a feeling for accuracy bordering on the pedantic. Exactly what I needed.
Morag started by preparing tables which were transferred by disk to my MACREX system. I did, and still do, the final editing. At first I used to check for accuracy but rarely do so now. Once she got her own indexing program it became even easier. They proof-checked as a team far more effectively than I could on my own, and page proofs for checking old copy against new would be returned on the same day they were delivered
Since they removed to Killin in Perthshire the postage costs and time lags have made some tasks uneconomic, but as text is now sent to Morag directly from the publishers for tabling, some expense is spared. As Morag progressed through Ann Hall's BIPT course (Ann - the final exercise is promised), complete indexes were tackled (with the permission of the publisher) under my supervision.
Lynda, a teacher of law to adult students, has taken over the work of marking old against new copy. With her knowledge of the law, and as she passes through the Society indexing course, I hope that she will also take on the actual updating, changing the pagination and adding new entries. These will then go into my indexing system for checking before winging their way through the ether to the typesetter.
On the business side, I pay them from my earnings against invoices for each individual job. They are an expense of my operation and are tax deductible, as are the costs of personal visits (800 mile round trip to Morag, 15 mile to Lynda). They are freelance operators, providing their own equipment, are responsible for their own tax and insurance, and are free to work for other people. My accountant required proof that they were not employees.
I would like to recommend this apprenticeship relationship (symbiosis?). I turn down less work than before, and the publishers get completed copy more quickly. They have a foot in the door of a profession they had no idea existed, and Morag is a source of interesting speculation at her local village post office.
In joining the Society of Indexers they have met some of the most charming, interesting, eccentric people in the country.
Copyright © 1996 Moira Greenhalgh
www.m-greenhalgh.co.uk