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Subject:Re: Indexing -- cost of From:Lori Lathrop <76620 -dot- 456 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 28 Feb 1995 16:48:34 EST
In response to Joanna Sheldon (INTERNET:cjs10 -at- CORNELL -dot- EDU), who said:
> I've just been asked to index a 245-page hardware design guide, and since
> I'm a contractor I have to come up with a reasonable estimate. Does anyone
> have a standard way of determining what that oughta be?
Joanna -- The last salary survey conducted by the American Society of
Indexers (ASI) indicated that most indexers average $32.50 per hour.
However, most professional indexers charge a per-page rate, not an
hourly rate.
To determine the rate you should charge per indexable page, you need
to consider a number of factors, such as the number of indexable terms
on an average page and the difficulty of the document. The more
technical the book is, the longer it will take you to index it (so
you should charge more).
Your best bet is to index a few pages to see how many pages you can do
in one hour; then base your hourly rate or your per-page rate on that.
You should be able to do anywhere from 6 to 10 pages per hour, depending
on the complexity of the text.
It takes less time to create an index with indexing software (such as
CINDEX or Macrex) than it does with most DTP software. If you need
info on these software packages, let me know.
BTW, if you are not a member of the American Society of Indexers (ASI),
I'd recommend joining it. The membership fee is just $50 per year, and
you'll learn a lot from the newsletter. ASI's address is: P.O. Box 386,
Port Aransas, TX 78373 / e-mail: asi -at- well -dot- sf -dot- ca -dot- us / phone: 512-749-4052.
Hope this helps ....
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Lori Lathrop ----------> INTERNET:76620 -dot- 456 -at- compuserve -dot- com
Lathrop Media Services, P.O. Box 808, Georgetown, CO 80444
(Author of _An Indexer's Guide to the Internet_, published by the
American Society of Indexers, P.O. Box 386, Port Aransas, TX 78373)
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