How to start indexing

Indexing a book means entering every recipe in it so members can search them. For each recipe you record the title, the page number, the ingredients, and a set of categories: what kind of dish it is, which cuisine it belongs to, which course it's served at, and any dietary or occasion tags. You don't type out the method or the quantities. EYB shows members what's in a recipe and where to find it, then sends them to the book to cook from.

A typical cookbook takes a few evenings. The form is quick once it's familiar, and most of the skill is in the categories, which is what this page is mainly about.

This page covers everything that applies to every indexer, member or professional. Read it before your first recipe, then keep it open while you work. For the rules field by field, use the Indexing Form Instructions. Every field on the form has a ? next to it that links straight to the right section.

Keep these open while you index

1. Recipe Types List, for Recipe Type, Ethnicity, Course, Nutrition, and the capitalization of common words in titles.
2. Shortcut Codes List, for the two and three-character ingredient codes.
3. Indexing Form Instructions, for everything else.

The 11 mistakes new indexers make most

1. Capitalizing every word in a recipe title. Capitalize the first word and any proper nouns, place names, and words that are capitalized in EYB ingredient names, such as Parmesan, Champagne, and Marsala.
2. Putting the foreign title first. English title first, then the foreign-language title in parentheses, with the first word of each capitalized, no matter how the book prints it.
3. Guessing at categories. Check the Recipe Types List first.
4. Leaving ingredients out. Index every food ingredient in the recipe except salt and water.
5. Missing Vegetarian and Vegan. Use the definitions in the Indexing Form Instructions and the guidance in the Recipe Types List. Where the Recipe Types List says to index both, index both.
6. Over-using Accompaniments. Two recipes are Accompaniments only if they're served in the same course, alongside each other. Always make them reciprocal.
7. Missing the special ingredient rules. Fresh citrus juice, zest, and peel are indexed as the whole fruit, so lemons and oranges. Bittersweet and semisweet chocolate are both dark chocolate. Not every variety of a common fruit or vegetable gets its own entry.
8. Putting public notes in Indexer Notes. Anything a member will read goes in EYB Comments. Indexer Notes is for talking to EYB staff.
9. Over-commenting. Keep EYB Comments to what a cook needs. Use our standard format for substitutions, "Can substitute A for B, and C for D.", and end every comment with a period.
10. Skipping the proofread. Check each recipe before you move on, then check the whole book before you submit it.
11. Not going back to the Indexing Form Instructions. It answers almost everything this page doesn't.

Which program are you in?

1. Indexing as a member, if you requested a book from the EYB Library yourself.
2. Indexing as a professional indexer, if EYB assigns you the work.

When you finish a book, work through Proofreading before you submit before you hand it over.