Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- About the Website -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral? -- What Is an Indexer-Or an Index, For That Matter? -- What an Indexer Does -- Authors as Indexers -- Can't a Computer Do That? -- If Computers Don't Index, Do You Still Use Index Cards? -- A Brief History of Indexes and Their Creators -- Endnotes -- Chapter 2: Accidents Waiting to Happen -- Paths to the Profession: Accidental or Deliberate -- Education and Professional Backgrounds -- Freelancers, Employees, and Company Owners -- Endnotes -- Chapter 3: The Many Faces of Indexing -- Not an Open and Shut Case -- Print Books -- Periodicals -- Databases -- Ebooks and Electronic Documents -- Websites -- Function and Format -- Endnotes -- Additional Resources -- Chapter 4: So You Want To Be an Indexer -- Common Characteristics: Facts and Fiction -- Suitability Quiz for Aspiring Indexers -- A Lonely and Anonymous Profession -- Deadlines and Other Stressors -- Do You Still Want to Be an Indexer? -- Endnotes -- Chapter 5: Excellence Is No Accident -- Training Options -- Learning Through Experience -- Professional Development -- Guidelines for Excellence -- Paying It Forward -- Endnotes -- Additional Resources -- Chapter 6: Tools of the Trade -- Training and Development -- Business Entity -- Insurance and Taxes -- Office Space -- Furnishings and Ergonomics -- Beauty in the Eyes of the Beholder -- Professional Image -- Hardware and Software Requirements -- An Indexer's Reference Shelf -- Online Resources -- Endnotes -- Chapter 7: Marketing and Client Relations -- All In a Day's Work -- Targeting Your Market and Finding Clients -- Making a Plan -- Marketing in an Online World -- Client Relationships -- Unhappy Clients -- Terms of Negotiation -- Style Adherence and Client Education.

Contracts and Letters of Intent -- Endnotes -- Additional Resources -- Chapter 8: Balancing Act -- What! No Janitor? -- Balancing Work and Personal Life -- Results of Chronic Stress -- Stress Management for Bodies and Brains -- Don't Toss Your Small Change -- Endnotes -- Additional Resources -- Chapter 9: Thinking Outside Of the Book -- Entrepreneurial Indexing -- Creative Collaboration -- Subcontracting Without Borders -- Incarcerated Indexers -- Creative Communication -- Opportunities Beyond the Book -- Endnotes -- Chapter 10: Moving Forward -- Guidance from Your Inner Indexer -- The Fear That Binds Us -- Preliminary Plans and Goals -- A Written Plan -- Asking for Help -- Endnotes -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- Appendix C -- About The Author -- Index.