Stories of human lives can be
fascinating but frequently difficult to index well. The new, updated fourth
edition of Hazel K. Bell's Indexing Biographies is a valuable guide to
the points for consideration when indexing life histories, biographies,
autobiographies, letters and other narrative texts.
Topics include the indexing of
fiction, analysis of the text before indexing, names and their various forms,
appropriate language choice for index entries, impartiality of the indexer, and
how to treat main characters (through appropriate subheading structure) and
minor characters (where strings of locators are sometimes unavoidable).
The book also discusses more
technical matters of index layout, presentation and arrangement of entries,
such as how to judge whether alphabetical, chronological, page order or
thematic grouping is most appropriate for the text.
Examples of good practice and
outstanding indexes are provided throughout. Lists of useful reference works
and relevant articles from The Indexer journal are also suggested. There
is, of course, a comprehensive index.
Indexing Biographies contains fine advice on best indexing practices
for book indexers, trainee indexers, authors, publishers and all lovers of life
histories. It is an excellent overview of the complex, important and rewarding
task of indexing such material.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
'Indexing Biographies should appeal to indexers, authors, editors, publishing professionals and lovers of life histories. In this fine new edition, Hazel K. Bell has kindly shared her considerable insight into all that goes into making a great biography index.'Paula Clarke Bain, Editing Matters, Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading
Auflage
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Editions-Typ
Maße
Höhe: 210 mm
Breite: 147 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-78962-162-4 (9781789621624)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Hazel K. Bell is an experienced indexer, particularly of biographies, an honours graduate in English language and literature, and a Fellow of the Society of Indexers.
Acknowledgements viii
1. Narrative texts and stories of lives
- 'Soft' texts
- The narrative form
- Sensitive content
- History
- Biography
- Autobiography
- Political memoirs
- Diaries
Letters
2. The great and good
- Indexing masterpieces
- Award winners
- Other good 'uns
3. First read your book
- Analysis and annotation
- Coverage
4. Naming names
- Alternative forms
- John Brown, meet John Brown
- Who are all these people?
- Errors and inconsistencies
- Lord, My
- Pseudonyms
5. Coming to terms: subheadings
- Qualities to aim for
- Language fit for literature
- And ...
6. The perils of partiality
- Don't show your feelings
- Putting it nicely
- Linguistic limitation
- What-d'you-call-her?
- The constraint of standardization
- 'Have you stopped beating your wife ...?'
7. All in order: a proper arrangement
- Alphabetization
- Subheadings
- Page order
- Chronology observed
- The alphabetical way
8. Theme by theme
- Examples of paragraphed subheadings
- Tracing the themes
9. Mighty main characters
- Leave it out?
- Hero-treatment
10. The works
- Listing volumes
- Titles
- Characters
- Letters
11. Just mentioning ...
12. Presentation and layout
- Prefatory notes
- Run-on style
- Sub-subheadings
- Indented style
- Typographical devices
13. The user
- Is that me ...?
14. Fiction
- Should fiction be indexed?
- The indexer as literary critic
- Indexing the fiction of A. S. Byatt
- Novels published with indexes
References
Index
