Freelance Indexer Exchange Michelle Guiliano of Line by Line Indexing

In this episode, Michelle discusses the fate of bespoke indexing software programs in light of Scribendi.ai's announcement about CINDEX. As of April 1, Scribendi will no longer distribute or support CINDEX, but will make it available as an open-source program. Michelle attempts to address what indexers can do to ensure the continued development and distribution of the software programs.

Maria Sullivan, an indexer who has been providing support to CINDEX users both when it was owned by Indexing Research and Scribendi, sent an email to the CINDEX Users listserv about this upcoming change. Her email is shared below with Maria's permission.

But first, here are some links Michelle mentioned in the episode:

Macrex site

CINDEX Users group page. If you're interested in hearing more about the open-source efforts, be sure to join the subgroup.

Index Manager - software for embedded indexes. This software is billed yearly as a subscription plan.

And if you'd like to join the conversation about legacy planning (please do!), you can send Michelle a voice message at indexerpodcast.com.

Or you can drop her a note in the Exchange Box.

If you know anyone who uses CINDEX but has not heard the news about the upcoming change, feel free to send them a copy of Maria's email.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
From Maria Sullivan to Cindex Users listserv:

Please take a look:   https://www.scribendi.ai/cindex/
 
Most of you have no doubt read the announcement from Scribendi regarding the future of CINDEX. First, let me reassure you that CINDEX is NOT GOING AWAY.
This change will mean that the CINDEX community will grow—this will make CINDEX stronger, more universal, more nimble, and more useful to indexers and publishers around the world.
For those of you who already own licensed copies of CINDEX, the program will continue to work as it has, and this will have no change in your personal copy.
One important change: after the transition to open source is complete, free software support will no longer be provided. Please rest assured that I am working on transitioning to another platform for support, and should have news coming about that soon.
There is a world of available information on open source software: please research and read up on open source and make yourself more familiar with how this model differs from a traditional proprietary licensing model. You will be surprised to hear how many of the tools that you use every day are based on open source code. I’d like to encourage any coders in the group to get ready for the release of the code. Let’s help other indexers by creating new open installers and augmenting the existing functionality.
Like always, and especially for the short-run, I encourage you to make sure that you have a current copy of the CINDEX installer and your serial number. Tuck these away in a safe place (not on your computer!) in case something happens to your equipment that would cause you to need to reinstall. In the future, we will not need these, but for now it’s best to be prepared so that you can keep indexing!
Thank you,
M—
Maria A. Sullivan
Email: maria@sullivanindex.com 
Indexing
Do you have a suggestion or comment to share? Maybe you have a burning question about indexing or the business of freelancing. Drop your thoughts in the Exchange Box. We would love to hear from you!

In this episode, Enid Zafran talks about her transition from Director of Indexing Services at BNA and the reasons behind the move to full self-employment as a freelance indexer. She also shares her experiences as chief of publications at the American Society for Indexing.

Links to other episodes in the series with Enid:

#18 Enid Zafran: Indexing in the 1970s and early 1980s
#20 Enid Zafran: Indexing Services at the Bureau of National Affairs from 1990 to 2002
#22 Enid Zafran: The Growth of Indexing Partners and Cindex in the 1990s

Other episodes mentioned:

#24 Stephen Ullstrom: indexer and author

Mentions in the episode

Information Today Books Indexing titles- includes books from the series published while Enid was the chief of publications at ASI

Wise money services for foreign payments



Do you have a suggestion or comment to share? Maybe you have a burning question about indexing or the business of freelancing. Drop your thoughts in the Exchange Box. We would love to hear from you!

This episode is all about indexing and writing about indexing. Michelle talks with Stephen Ullstrom, who is not only an award-winning indexer but he's also a first-time author. He wrote an excellent step-by-step guide to indexing for authors (book link below).  Stephen also shares the titles of business books that have influenced his freelance career and what's up next for him and his indexing business.

You can connect with Stephen Ullstrom on LinkedIn or sign up for his newsletter on his website.

You can order his book, Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide, from your local bookstore or here (not an affiliate link).

Also - until March 9th, the e-book version of Stephen's book is half-price at Smashwords.

Books discussed in this episode (not affiliate links):

The Dip by Seth Godin
 Company of One by Paul Jarvis
Ten Characteristics of Quality Indexes by Margie Towery





Do you have a suggestion or comment to share? Maybe you have a burning question about indexing or the business of freelancing. Drop your thoughts in the Exchange Box. We would love to hear from you!

Michelle details how to create a strong partnership for the index edit as well as the steps for each person in the index edit process.

Here is the link to the index edit resource list.
Do you have a suggestion or comment to share? Maybe you have a burning question about indexing or the business of freelancing. Drop your thoughts in the Exchange Box. We would love to hear from you!

This is the third installment of Michelle's conversation with Enid Zafran. She talks about how she balanced her role at the Director of Indexing Services at the Bureau of National Affairs while growing her business, Indexing Partners. She also discusses her role, along with David Ream, in introducing Cindex to legal publishers.   

The first two installments of Michelle's conversation with Enid:

Episode #18 Enid Zafran: Indexing in the 1970s and early 1980s
Episode #20 Enid Zafran: Indexing Services at the Bureau of National Affairs from 1990 to 2002

Enid Zafran will discuss her decision to leave the Bureau of National Affairs in the next installment.

Add-on dictionaries (NOT an affiliate link): Spellex
Do you have a suggestion or comment to share? Maybe you have a burning question about indexing or the business of freelancing. Drop your thoughts in the Exchange Box. We would love to hear from you!

In this episode, Michelle returns to the index edit to discuss the costs (literal and figurative) and benefits of having another index edit or proofread your index. 

In the first episode in this series, #19 Index Edits - An Introduction, Michelle details her current and past experiences with index edits and the different types of index edits.

In the See Also segment, Michelle talks about how an old-school, nontech item on her desk helps keep her on schedule.  (Note: This is NOT an affiliate link.)

Be sure to share the nontech items you use in your business with Michelle. She'd love to hear how you work!



Do you have a suggestion or comment to share? Maybe you have a burning question about indexing or the business of freelancing. Drop your thoughts in the Exchange Box. We would love to hear from you!