ASI News
—ASI President Hits the Ground Running
—”Fresh-eyed” Indexing Volunteers Needed
—ASI Thanks Gold Sponsor, CINDEX™, for Participating in 2021 Conference
—Make Your Summer Wunderbar With an ASI Webinar: ASI Announces Summer Sale
—ASI Member Amy Hall Featured in Marketing Blog
—New Issue of Key Words Available Now
Associated Industry News
—Indexing Society of Canada Announces 2021 Tamarack Award Recipient
—ACES Conference Call for Session Proposals
Chapters and SIGS
—Northwesterners Go Virtual for Second Year
Business and Marketing
—Noisy Noise Nixes Annoying Noise
Spotlight on Heather Pendley
ASI News
ASI President Hits the Ground Running
ASI's new president, Michele Combs, has not wasted any time getting busy in her role. Michele has already revisited the ASI Strategic Plan (developed in 2018 by the ASI Board) and has created an updated and accessible version with the board’s blessings. The plan has been posted on the ASI website for your review. (Please log in to view it.) Some areas of the Strategic Plan include goals that lack defined actions. If you have ideas to suggest for these goal actions or other feedback for Michele, please contact her directly (see her profile in the members list).
”Fresh-eyed” Indexing Volunteers Needed
ASI’s webmaster wizards are working their magic on updating the A-Z Index of the ASI website—and volunteers are needed! Not just any volunteers, mind you, but fresh-eyed newbies (less than three years as ASI member) who still find the website an unknown wilderness of resources, tools, and learning materials. ASI training course students are especially encouraged to join the fun. The new indexer gaze is more apt to catch missing entries and shortcomings and not glaze over like an established indexer’s eyes after years of path finding. The veterans might know where to find it, but you don’t! And that’s great! So come on down, get involved with your professional association, directly benefit your fellow members, and apply your newly acquired indexing skills. Become a volunteer by contacting Jennifer Spanier directly.
Make Your Summer Wunderbar With an ASI Webinar:
ASI Announces Summer Sale
Did you know there are twenty-eight webinars in the ASI collection? Did you know that they have all been produced by the organization and its many talented indexer members? It’s all true. It’s also true that this treasure trove of advice, training, tips and techniques, dos and don’ts is now available (through Sept. 6, 2021) at a reduced price of $21 per webinar. Make your post-pandemic summer even more memorable and productive with an ASI webinar. So, check out the index of webinar topics, make your choice, and take advantage of the Summer of 21, $21 Webinar Sale by using the SUMMER21 coupon code at checkout. (More info here.)
ASI Thanks Gold Sponsor, CINDEX™, for Participating in 2021 Conference
Gold Sponsors play a vital role in the successful production of ASI’s annual conferences. This year we thank Gold Sponsor CINDEX™ and Frances Lennie for their valuable contribution to our event. Frances had this to say about the sponsorship:
“For many years it has been our pleasure and privilege at Indexing Research to provide sponsorship for indexing conferences and other events, not only as a tribute to our CINDEX™ users, but also to ASI and its allied sister societies for providing a forum for professional development.”
Thank you Frances Lennie and thank you CINDEX™
ASI Member Amy Hall Featured in Marketing Blog
Amy Hall, of Amethyst Harbor, Inc., was recently featured in the Ausoma blog. (Ausoma is an author-focused social media marketing service). In her feature, Amy discusses her services and business structure, her relationships with clients and authors, her social media tips, and her goals for 2021. Amy also mentions her three-part webinar Culinary Indexing—Food for Thought, produced by ASI and presented in October of 2020.
New Issue of Key Words Available Now
ASI’s flagship publication, Key Words, has published its latest issue. The Summer 2021 issue is packed with articles such as a new Paratext column from Kate Mertes, 2021 ASI Conference session details, how one indexer developed an interesting specialization, a member's experience with web-ready indexes, tips on indexing endnotes, plus featured software in the Tools of the Trade column. Let us know what you think!
Associated Industry News
Indexing Society of Canada Announces 2021 Tamarack Award Recipient
The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is pleased to announce the 2021 recipient of the Tamarack Award. Siusan Moffat (Toronto) is being recognized for her contribution and commitment to the society. Siusan was chosen for her drive to help ISC/SCI be more representative of the diversity present in Canada.
The Tamarack Award was instituted to recognize members who go “above and beyond the call of duty” in their volunteer work for the Society.
ACES Conference Call for Session Proposals
Are you an editor/indexer? Looking for a place to share your knowledge? ACES: The Society for Editing is having their 26th National Conference in San Antonio in 2022 (more info).
The organization has put out a call for session proposals through August 31, 2021. ACES is looking for sessions that focus on all aspects of editing, including but not limited to book editing, news editing, freelance editing, academic editing, and corporate editing.
Chapters and SIGS
Northwesterners Go Virtual for Second Year
The members of the Pacific Northwest Chapter’s planning committee have made the difficult decision to, once again, hold their annual Fall Conference virtually. This was a particularly vexing challenge since the group felt they could not make a decision early in the year and decided to wait a couple of months to gauge how the pandemic was turning. The committee hopes that other chapters planning conferences this year will benefit from their work and had this to say regarding the decision (from meeting summary):
The issue of in-person vs. virtual was settled and virtual won out. This decision was based on the many perpetuating realities of the COVID-19 pandemic: even with vaccinations, variants could be making inroads by the time of the conference; logistics of providing safe space for meeting and dining; concerns for honoring diversity of age and abilities (special needs, hearing issues due to masks, etc.); possibility that Canadian indexers would not be able to cross the border to attend; and many other considerations. In addition, but still, due to the wrench in the works of COVID, the chapter acknowledged that there was just not enough time to prepare adequately for an in-person conference.
Business and Marketing
Noisy Noise Nixes Annoying Noise
A secret of hyper-productive coders the world ’round is listening to colored noise through headphones or ambient sound systems to boost productivity. How does noise boost productivity?
Like this: white noise, brown noise, and pink noise are all electronically produced sound waves that comprise signals at many random frequencies all mixed together. When this type of noise is broadcast into a space, it tends to mask (block out) all other unwanted sounds. Then, once the listener gets used to the electronically produced noise (EPN) it recedes into the background as well, thereby eliminating sounds that call our attention away from our work. Tada!
Not all EPN is created equal.
- White noise is the sound equivalent of white paint: all colors together make white: therefore, all frequencies together make white noise. White noise is highly effective at masking background noise, but it contains all the frequencies of human hearing and some people find it difficult, if not painful, to listen to.
- Step in pink noise. This noise takes into consideration human hearing and balances out the list of pitches in the noise and spreads the frequencies out more evenly. Pink sound is light on high frequencies and tends to sound a bit deeper in tone.
- Even mellower than pink noise is brown noise. Brown noise strips out most high frequencies to create an even deeper, warmer tone without losing its sonic masking effect.
There are many sources for recordings of all colors of noise—some mixed with the sound of rain or water flowing, waves crashing, fires crackling—just do a quick search on YouTube or even on Spotify. Set the stereo down low or slip on those sexy studio headphones, start the noise, and get to work. This link has a lot more fascinating information and links to even more about colored noise.
Spotlight on Heather Pendley
If you would like to be in the Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone for it, please contact Daniel Heila.
July’s Member Spotlight is Heather Pendley of PendleysProEditing.com. Heather recently gave a presentation with Devon Thomas on embedded indexing at the ASI 2021 virtual conference.
Where do you live now? Where are you originally from? Do you share your home with pets or family?
I grew up just north of San Diego, moved to the Imperial Valley for eighteen years, and recently returned to my hometown with my husband, teenager, and two rescue dogs. Although I never cared for yippy little dogs, both my dogs (a Toxirn and a Chigi) have a bit of Chihuahua in them.
What is your educational background?
Besides a degree in accounting, I have a specialized certificate in copyediting from UCSD, and I completed the UC Berkeley indexing course with Heather Ebbs before she retired.
Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?
I love to garden, take walks to the park nearby with my dogs, and I try to visit the beach a couple of times a month. I am also a volunteer one-on-one Bible teacher. I used to decorate cakes, but it got too fattening.
What kind of work did you do before you studied indexing? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to indexing?
I was in banking and finance for fifteen years but didn’t love it. I started copyediting and then added indexing to my repertoire at the suggestion of a Ph.D. I met on a flight. I prefer indexing (especially embedded) but seem to get more copyediting work at the moment.
When did you start indexing? When did you join ASI?
I started indexing in 2018 and joined ASI in early 2019, the same year I attended my first conference. I never thought I would later co-present at a conference, but that’s exactly what happened May 1 this year (Embedded Indexing: Tackling the Enigma).
For you, what is the best advantage of ASI membership?
The Indexer Locator list is invaluable; it has earned me many jobs. Networking at conferences and discussions on the IDG list are wonderful resources for newbies and established indexers alike. I look forward to being a larger part of ASI as a director.
Finally, what is your best coping strategy for the pandemic?
I zoom with friends a couple of times a week and keep busy with my freelance business (PendleysProEditing.com) and volunteer work. I also planted a jasmine bush right outside my office window, so my favorite scent wafts in at random times throughout the day. It always makes me smile.
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