Episode 330 – Book Indexing Made Simple with Stephen Ullstrom

Mark interviews writer and indexer Stephen Ullstrom about book indexing and his recent release BOOK INDEXING: A Step-by-Step Guide.

Prior to the main content, Mark shares a personal update about a skeleton and license plate theft, as well as word about this episode’s sponsor, the Patrons of the Stark Reflections Podcast.

In their conversation, Mark and Stephen talk about:

Stephen’s long-time interest in writingHow his role working at UBC Press when he was attending university was his first exposure to indexingUsing freelancing doing indexing to help support his writing, but how that freelancing kind of took over much of his careerStill being interested in fiction, but how writing a book about indexing was a good full book-length project to completeStephen’s book: BOOK INDEXING: A Step-by-Step GuideHis goal to make indexing simple and practical and more entry-levelWhy authors should care about indexingHow indexing can become somewhat of a marketing toolThe way an index can bring more value to a bookThe pros and cons of a keyword search (as opposed to an index, where the human filtering on what’s relevant is being done for you)How an index can be much more granular than even a layered/multi-leveled table of contentsThe way an index works within an eBookWhat an embedded index isCases where a fiction author might want to use indexingConsiderations on whether or not it’s best to do your own index or to hire that work out to a professional indexerThe average length of time it would take Stephen to index a 200 page book (about 20 hours)The typical price range an author can expect to pay for having a book indexed (For example a trade book that’s about 200 pages could cost about $800 to $900 CAD – about $4.00 CAD per page. A scholary book is usually about $6.00 to $6.50 to $7.00 CAD per page)The steps to go through when creating an indexStephen’s use of the indexing software called CindexRemembering that, ultimately, your index is for the READERHow to hire Stephen if you’re interested in leveraging his indexing services\A common misperception authors often have about indexingAnd more

After the interview, Mark reflects on the value of indexing as it pertains to some of his non-fiction and even fiction titles.

Links of Interest:

Stephen Ullstrom’s WebsiteMark’s YouTube ChannelBuy Mark a CoffeePatreon for Stark ReflectionsBest Book Ever PodcastLovers Moon PodcastThe Relaxed AuthorBuy eBook DirectBuy Audiobook DirectPublishing Pitfalls for AuthorsAn Author’s Guide to Working with Libraries & BookstoresWide for the WinMark’s Canadian Werewolf BooksThis Time Around (Short Story)A Canadian Werewolf in New YorkStowe Away (Novella)Fear and Longing in Los AngelesFright Nights, Big CityLover’s MoonHex and the CityThe Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and AutomobilesYippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard

Stephen Ullstrom is an award-winning professional indexer. He believes that the world is a better place with well-written indexes, and is passionate about helping authors, publishers, and the index-curious understand how indexing works.

The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0