Two New Books on Indexing

There are two new book on indexing coming out in June.

The first is:
Ten Characteristics of Quality Indexes: Confessions of an Award Winning Indexer
Margie Towery
978-1573875264

Release Date: June 14th, 2016

The amazon.com product description:

The name "Margie Towery" is synonymous with index quality, and in this guide the master indexer distills more than two decades of experience for the benefit of her fellow indexers. Towery defines and explores the characteristics of quality indexes: audiences and accessibility, metatopics and index structure, accuracy, comprehensiveness, conciseness, consistency, clarity, reflexivity, readability, and common sense.

Writing in an engaging and accessible style, she shares her own struggles in indexing and offers strategies for overcoming challenges such as bias and language, indexing blocks, and working with authors. Her digressions into research on reading and decision-making provide a wider context for thinking about quality, while her suggestions and checklist for evaluating indexes round out this essential volume for professional indexers at every skill level.

This is a book I really want to add to my library. As a professional indexer, albeit a newer one, I find that each time I read a book on indexing, I learn something new - a different way of looking at such finicky debates such as using undifferentiated locators or not, or workflow tricks to speed up the process.

The second book is another one that I really want to add to my library:
Indexing Tactics & Tidbits: An A-Z Guide
Janet Perlman
978-1573875257
 
Release Date: June 2016

The Amazon.com product description:

In this highly-recommended reference for indexing professionals, master indexer Janet Perlman presents a treasure trove of practical, in-depth explanations and advice. The author pays homage to the Hans Wellisch classic, Indexing from A to Z, while bringing her own in-depth, conversational style and a multitude of fresh topics to the table.

Indexing Tactics & Tidbits provides answers and insights on such vital subjects as audience analysis, clients and contracts, computers and software, ethics and standards, index depth and length, index structure, periodical indexing, professional resources, quality and usability, work methods and strategies, and much more.

New and experienced indexers alike will appreciate this significant effort to address "everything you always wanted to know about indexing but were afraid to ask" by one of the preeminent indexers of our time.

This should be an interesting read. I have and have read the Hans Wellisch book, Indexing From A To Z, and although it's older, it's still a very useful reference as I noted in my review. Just looking at the list in the amazon.com blurb makes me want to go out and order this right away.

I should note one bit of confusion. The publisher's website says that the release date for this is in June. According to Amazon.com, the book is already available for order, and has been since the end of March. I also note that some indexers have commented about having already received their copies, so it might be shipping out already.