See Also—May 2022

ASI News
—Join ASI's Annual Meeting on May 20
—See Also welcomes new editor
—Indexers gather to explore "The Future of Indexing"
—Software Segments this Wednesday, May 4
Associated Industry News
—ISC/SCI conference starts May 12
—CINDEX has new owner
—The Indexer survey wants to know how you find content
—STC plans annual Summit in Chicago
—International Indexing Conference “Continental Connections” in Berlin this October
—ASI members receive scholarships
Business and Marketing
—Prep for tax time now
Spotlight on Cheryl Lenser

ASI News

Join ASI's Annual Meeting on May 20

ASI invites all its members to the Annual General Meeting on Friday, May 20. It will be held via Zoom at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern time. Watch your email for the meeting link.

Outgoing President Michele Combs will deliver the President's Report, and Anne Fifer will give the Treasurer's Report. After that, we will welcome the new officers and directors to the board: Gina Guilinger, president; Theresa Duran, president elect; Cheryl Lenser, treasurer; and Amy Hall, Judy Staigmiller and Amanda Wilson, directors at large.

The presentation of the Kohlrabi Awards will recognize ASI's valued volunteers.

See Also welcomes new editor

With the May edition of See Also, ASI welcomes our new See Also editor, Laurie Hlavaty. A longtime member of ASI, Laurie is a graduate of the ASI Training Course. Before becoming a freelance indexer and copy editor, she was a writer and editor at a daily newspaper in New York state.

She has hit the ground running, as we asked her to create the first issue in a matter of days. Thank you, Laurie, for stepping into this role, vacated by Daniel Heila, who is now the editor of Key Words.

Special thanks go to Madeline Powell, who works with our management company, for serving as editor of the April See Also.

Indexers gather to explore "The Future of Indexing"

ASI held its annual conference—"The Future of Indexing: A Mix of Art and Technology"—on April 29 and April 30, with the new-indexer workshop led by Fred Leise on April 28. The event, held virtually since 2020, welcomed more than 100 indexers and others from across the United States and seven countries. Keynote speakers included Joshua Tallent, who spoke on changes in the publishing industry. Workshop presenters included Paula Clarke Bain, creator of the index for Dennis Duncan's Index, A History of the; marketing expert John Coe; and indexer Maria Sullivan, on methods for updating a previously published index for a new edition. Session replays are available on the website for those who registered for the event.

Key Words Summer edition will feature full coverage of the conference and its programs.

Software Segments this Wednesday, May 4

Join us on Wednesday, May 4, when experts and users of indexing software tools will discuss updates, share tips, and respond to your questions about four different software applications.

If you're interested in the latest developments in the software you use or are curious about other applications, here's the perfect opportunity to explore.

Come for one session on your software or learn more by joining us for the full day. Participants at the ASI 2022 Conference are fully registered for Software Segments. Members who did NOT register for the ASI 2022 Conference and wish to attend Software Segments, can register here.

Associated Industry News

ISC/SCI conference starts May 12

The Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d'indexation (ISC/SCI) will present its annual conference—past perfect, future progressive—May 12-14, in a virtual format. Dennis Duncan, author of the well-received Index, A History of the will be the keynote speaker. For information or to register, visit the ISC/SCI conference page.

CINDEX has new owner

For those who use CINDEX for indexing, take note that Scribendi, Inc. is the new owner of the software. The Canadian-based editing and proofreading company will handle all customer support, upgrades and licensing purchases. For information, visit their website.

Frances Lennie of Indexing Research, the creator and former owner of CINDEX, said that the user discussion group will continue and that the company will still offer CINDEX presentations at conferences and trainings when possible.

The Indexer survey wants to know how you find content

The Indexer is asking readers how they currently find content in back issues of The Indexer and how they would like to be able to do this in future. An introduction to the survey and the link to it are here. The survey closes on May 31. It includes fun exercises and will help The Indexer to evaluate access points to this important resource. For more information, please contact the editor of The Indexer, Mary Coe.

STC plans annual Summit in Chicago

The 2022 Summit & Expo of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) will be held May 15-18 in Chicago. "The Booming Business of Content: A New Era, New Opportunities" is this year's theme. The conference website has the full schedule and registration details.

International Indexing Conference “Continental Connections” in Berlin this October

The provisional program for the International Indexing Conference “Continental Connections” in Berlin on October 17–18 is now available. Every three years, the indexing societies (ICRIS) meet at the Triennial conference. This year’s conference is a joint effort of the German, Dutch, and British societies. The conference will be a hybrid of in-person and online.

ASI members receive scholarships

ASI members Heather Pendley and Laurel Rush are among the recipients of the 2022 DReam to Index Scholarship, in honor of David K. Ream, who is remembered for his software developments and indexer education and support. ISC/SCI members Matthew MacLellan and Jessica MacLeod are also recipients of the scholarship—which helps new indexers attend ASI's or ISC/SCI's annual conferences. Next year will be the final year for the new-indexers scholarship, established by Friends of Dave Ream.

Business and Marketing

Prep for tax time now

Were you rushing around gathering up receipts and crucial documentation for income tax filing in April? Here are a few ways to help avoid the stress of the scramble next year:

• Know what business-related expenditures could be deductions on the return you file in 2023. If you are new to freelance indexing, you can deduct startup costs like registering your business as an LLC or sole proprietorship, according to SCORE, a nonprofit focused on small business mentorship and education. Certain home-office expenses, such as utilities and Internet, are also partially deductive, so keep your monthly bills for things like cell phone and Internet. SCORE has a list of often-missed deductions.
• Regularly (at least monthly) take stock of all your business expenses before they slip your mind and the receipt for that indexing-related book purchase is misplaced. Deductions include, according to TurboTax, supplies and services, such as software and online subscriptions (think computer back-up services, stylebook subscriptions); professional membership dues; business-related food and travel; marketing tools such as website design and hosting. Deductions for a big-ticket purchase like a computer is dependent on several factors. Nolo explains the deductions and depreciation of such property under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Accounting software can make tracking all your expenditures easier, but at minimum have a dedicated paper or electronic folder where you stash–and organize–receipts throughout the year. TurboTax recommends keeping both paper and digital copies.
• Tally training and education expenses. If you complete an ASI webinar or online learning course, take a college course or attend a professional annual conference (in-person or virtually), log those receipts for potential deductions.
• Pay quarterly taxes on time. Freelancers and small business owners must pay estimated taxes throughout the year, and the Internal revenue Service can levy penalties if estimated taxes are not paid on time, or if the payments are inaccurate. Set up a reminder in advance of the postmarked-due deadlines. For the remainder of 2022, those dates are June 15 for the second quarter; September 15 for the third quarter; and January 17, 2023, for the fourth quarter. The IRS has information on quarterly tax payments and other guidelines for the self-employed here.

Also, check out this list of tax-prep resources from SCORE.

If you have any tips for other indexers on how you stay ahead of the tax crunch and stay organized throughout the year, please share by emailing See Also.

Spotlight on Cheryl Lenser

Our Spotlight this month is on Cheryl Lenser, who is ASI's new treasurer.

If you would like to be in the Spotlight, or would like to nominate someone for it, please contact Laurie Hlavaty.

Where do you live now? Where are you originally from? Do you share your home with pets or family?

I am originally from Indianapolis, lived in Bloomington for six years during college, and now live in Greenfield, Indiana, with my husband, 18-year-old twin daughters, and a menagerie of pets (two dogs, two parakeets, two turtles, and two fish—yes, it seems like a veritable Noah's ark at times!).

What is your educational background?

I have a master's degree in library science, a bachelor's degree in political science, and a certificate in Jewish studies, all from Indiana University. Go Hoosiers!

Do you have any hobbies, travels, volunteer work, or other interesting things to share?

Most of my activities in recent years have revolved around my daughters—Girl Scout leader for 10 years, teaching toddler church, attending school events such as concerts and plays, etc. I do enjoy watching the birds as they visit the feeders near my living room window and going on hikes at nearby nature parks. We have also taken several family vacations over the years—visiting Disney World, Washington D.C., the Grand Canyon, South Dakota, and most recently the Bahamas.

What kind of work did you do before you studied indexing? Are you still doing that or other work in addition to indexing?

I took an indexing class as part of my library studies at Indiana University, although I didn't particularly like the class. After graduation, I worked for a while as an environmental services administrative assistant (fancy title for office secretary) before landing a job at Macmillan Computer Publishing. Because I had a library degree, I was hired as an indexer instead of the proofreading job for which I applied. As a freelancer, in addition to indexing I also offer proofreading and copyediting services.

What is a favorite strategy to help motivate or inspire when you are feeling stuck during a work project?

Candy Crush! Just kidding, although I do tend to take breaks and scroll social media when the work gets a little too tedious. I'm trying to do better at getting outside and taking a walk, working in my garden or feeding the birds to refresh my mind before returning to work.

When did you start indexing? When did you join ASI?

I started working as an in-house indexer for Macmillan Computer Publishing in 1995 and remained with the company through its various iterations and ownership changes (Simon & Schuster, Prentice Hall, Viacom, Pearson Education) until 2016, when most of the Indianapolis office was laid off. That is when I decided to pursue freelancing full time and have been doing that ever since. Macmillan, and later Pearson, had a corporate membership to ASI—and I participated in the Heartland Chapter as part of that corporate membership—but I joined ASI as an individual in 2016.

For you, what is the best advantage of ASI membership?

I have appreciated the chance to network with other indexers, especially in smaller, more informal groups, such as chapter meetings. I have also received enough work via the Indexer Locator to more than pay for the annual listing.