Stephen Ullstrom

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Congrats! Great to see you are still at it.

Learn what a non-indexer should know about indexing with #EFA instructor Jolanta Komornicka on August 14 at 5 p.m. ET in her live webinar "Indexes Explained for Non-Indexers." Will you be there?

Yes, that could be another possibility.

True, best not to blame. I am simply so surprised at the error. The book is beautifully written and produced otherwise. And I agree the author or an editor should have noticed it too. Almost like the error was intentional.

Or maybe the indexer was overruled. That happens too. But surely this is an error easily recognized, once pointed out?

I'm surprised, as that seems like information that should be common knowledge or would be easy to fact check.

I'm also not sure what to think about the indexer. I mean, they followed the text (a good practice), but also apparently failed to flag the mistake (also a good practice).

#IndexSky

Noticed today a reference, in a book I'm reading, to "Pope Francis II," referring to the recently deceased pontiff.

Except that is incorrect. Pope Francis was the first pope to use that name, and he did not use a regnal number.

I checked the index and there it is, again: "Francis II, Pope."

Christ is Risen!

A beautiful sermon. Always a treat to hear proclaimed at the paschal liturgy.

I agree. And now I really need to deliver a great index!

I won't attend, alas, as the conference is too far away for me to reasonably travel. But I do appreciate the invite. It's nice, as a freelancer working on the book, to be recognized.

So I was just invited to a conference that will revolve around the book I will begin indexing next week. I've been invited to book launches before, but this is the first I've seen where the launch is an entire two-day conference. What fun! #IndexSky

I think the US lawsuits are only for Americans? I'll see what happens. I'm not aware of one in Canada right now.

Thanks, Jola. Sounds like there are a couple of class action lawsuits already underway. I'm curious to see how that plays out. This tool from The Atlantic just makes it all more visible, which is perhaps good as more people realize they are affected?

And is all this training really doing AI any good? Still not impressed by the writing and editing that generative AI produces. Perhaps there is value for AI somewhere, but it is not writing. Real humans only, please. 5/

Another takeaway: it is not just the big-name authors affected by having their work stolen to train AI. Even nobodies like me writing about a niche professional program are being caught up. 4/

I feel somewhat resigned to companies like Meta getting ahold of my writings to train their AIs. I mean, what am I going to do against Meta? Though I suppose that is how they justify stealing people's work, knowing that the average person lacks the resources to fight back. 3/

It looks like Meta has also pirated other Indexer articles, as well as a few books on indexing. Obviously I didn't consent to Meta using my writing. 2/

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

So I looked up my name and it looks like Meta has pirated my article on the Mary Newberry Mentorship Program to train their AI. Why that article and not others I have published in The Indexer? Maybe Meta will get to my other articles later. 1/ #IndexSky

www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

Curious about indexing?

I’m teaching Introduction to Book Indexing thru Library Juice Academy. Starts April 7.

It may only be 6 weeks, but it’s an intensive course designed to teach you what you need to get started as an indexer.

#IndexSky #edibuddies

libraryjuiceacademy.com/shop/course/...

It's out! Enid Zafran and I take a look at what indexers currently think about embedded indexing. I'm already curious to see how the situation will change in ten years.

Thanks for the mention! I appreciate it.

Sale is part of Smashwords' annual Read an Ebook Week, and ends Sunday, March 8.

And if I may, please support Smashwords if you enjoy ebooks. In my experience, Smashwords pays the highest royalties and pays the quickest of all the online retailers. I love all their support for indie authors.

Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide This book teaches you how to confidently write an excellent index. Written for authors, editors, and the index-curious, and with dozens of examples from the author's own work as a professional…

Sale time!

The ebook version of my introduction, Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide, is 50% off at Smashwords.

I wrote this book for all those curious about indexing, or just starting their indexing careers. I think you'd be hard pressed to learn at a cheaper price.

#IndexSky

buff.ly/HvA41z8

I imagine the publisher thinking, "Screw it! The book is long enough and no one is going to use the TOC anyway." Which may well be true.

Also, no index, which is a shame for a book with about 650 indexable pages. *Sigh

Otherwise, a beautifully designed book.

That's odd. Bought a book today and discovered it lacks a table of contents. Granted, the book is a diary that hasn't been divided into chapters, but there is a foreword and acknowledgements. I also don't see any spare pages that could have been turned into a TOC.

You're welcome! Glad to do so.

Great to hear! Glad you were able to do it.

Dear Business,

If you ask me to call to make an appointment, please either answer the phone or have a voicemail inbox that isn't perpetually full. Or answer your emails. I shouldn't need to come in person.

Sincerely,
A customer now wondering if this is the best option after all

While indexing today, was surprised to come across someone I knew (now deceased). Didn't like his politics nor his sense of righteous entitlement, but damn, he made an impact. My grandparents worked with him fifty-odd years ago and I unexpectedly shared a church with him in his old age. #IndexSky