Marketing Tips 

All of us were beginners, once, and thus we are sympathetic with the issues of marketing our skills, and ourselves, especially as newcomers to the profession.

As president of the chapter in 2010, I wanted to focus on marketing during my term. One of the best ways to get a feel for a topic is to solicit personal stories. It is all well and good to have someone tell you to network, to put yourself out there, to take that risk of rejection. It is another thing to hear real success stories and potential strategies.

These are stories of how some of our members created their first real indexing job. You may be surprised at the serpentine paths that can lead to indexing contracts. You will see from these stories that it is not as frightening as it first appears!

May these stories nudge newly-minted indexers to take these early steps toward a successful career. Our twenty contributors have included contact information, thus offering a rich professional resource. I hope too that these stories will serve our more experienced members as well, by reminding them—"It's time to market!"—and refreshing their memories about how enjoyable the process can be.

Speaking of fun, this project was a delight for me. I got to know these twenty people better than I had before. I may even be able to remember some of the faces that go with their names at our next meetings and on our regional email list!

Enjoy!   And Good Luck!

Nancy Gerth
President PNW/ASI, 2010

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