Traditionally the author of a non-fiction piece has been responsible for creating the index, however, this job is often farmed out to people skilled in the art of indexing. Publishers, writing agents, packagers, and authors of nonfiction are always on the lookout for fast and efficient indexers to help them with the daunting task of indexing the material in their books.
When indexing positions are advertised, employers are really not looking for people with a certain degree or a certain training certificate, although indexing courses are available. Instead, strong clerical skills and in some cases a good understanding of the topic is sought after. If you want to become an indexer your best bet is to check out a book on the topic or take one of the indexing courses that are available. You can also practice your indexing skills by checking out a nonfiction book from your local public library or from your own collection of books, and try to index it without looking at the index that the book came with. After you have completed your indexing trial, compare your entries to those found in the back of the book. See if your selections are close to those that were selected by the book's packager. This is a good exercise, as indexer employers will ask you to submit a sample index based on sample proof pages that they provide. If you are able to impress them with your indexing skills chances are that you will get the job.
How Much Does It Pay?
One of the most important questions to ask about a job is how much does it pay? The answer to this question for an indexer position is difficult to answer because it is often gained as a freelance position, and as such, the freelancer often sets the price. You can negotiate your fees as a fixed price for a project, or you can set a per-page rate, or even a per-entry rate. However, an employer may offer to pay you by the hour. To determine if the hourly rate that you have been offered is worth your time and energy you should make sure the offer is a fair wage for a book indexer. In 1993 the average pay range for an indexer was between $20 and $25 per hour. To determine what today's rate should be you should multiply the current minimum wage by four to determine the low end of the pay scale for book indexing.