Index Blues

Recently I finished preparing an index for a scholarly volume scheduled to come out in a few months. Along the way I ran into some difficulties with some of the references. In order to prevent this happening in the future, I have prepared some indexer's recommendations for article writers:

1. When referring to an article or book, please write the name of the author/editor in full - both the first and last name - no initials. This includes when you refer to your own work. Doing otherwise forces the indexer to spend a great deal of time playing 'guess the author', or hunting down your self-references.
2. Pick one form of notation or referencing and stick with it. For instance, if you're referring to a passuk, don't change mid-article from 7:13 to 7.13. If you're referring to the Israel State Archives, don't change (if you're writing in Hebrew) from AMI [Archiyon Medinat Yisra'el] to GM [Ginzach hamedinah]. Be consistent.
3. There is such a thing as overkill. There is no need to bring 10 different references or page numbers to make a simple point or mention an uncontested fact - 2 or 3 will do. These additional references only mean more (unnecessary) work for the indexer.

Remember, the faster the indexer's work is finished, the faster your work gets published.