The Yearbook Blog

Isn’t it funny how you can talk to your friends, text, IM, pass notes, and generally blab for days non-stop but then when you sit in front of a computer screen to write, you get brain freeze? Relax! Writing is just talking, um, written down. So have fun with your words and let the creativity flow during a class brainstorming session. Or have small group competitions for story ideas, headlines, and extended coverage that relate to your book’s theme. So, if the book is “Here’s Looking at You” try:

• Seeing is believing
• See what we mean?
• Worth a second glance
• A view from the top
• Looking good
• Now see this
• A sight to remember
• Visions of victory
• Stare down

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “V” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

Woohoo! It’s April and your book is done! Time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the year. But wait? What about all the stuff that happens after April? If only there was a way to include that in your book, too. Well, you can… with a Spring Supplement! You can include…

• Spring Sports scoreboards or even Spring Sports!
• Senior Trips
• Spring field trips
• PROM! (That’s right, I said, “PROM!”)

And since it only takes 2 weeks to get your supplement back from Herff Jones, you can pretty much include everything!

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “S” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

The opening of your yearbook is like a good pick-up line. It should grab their attention and make them want more. Below is a quick list of what your opening should or could have:

• Opening Copy - This should explain the theme and why you chose it for this year. It should be compelling and set the tone or voice of your copy for the WHOLE book.
• Design Elements - Design elements from the cover that you plan to use throughout the book need to appear on your opening pages.
• Photography - The pictures should reflect your theme through their content.
• Table of Contents - If you can’t do this on your endsheets, then the opening is the place to do it. (Try to avoid putting it on your title page!)

For ideas on how to design your Opening Spread, go to Yearbooks.biz and click on “Showcase.”

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “O” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

“JUMP!” is a great late-night deadline song by Van Halen, but also a commonly used technique in magazines and newspapers. Jump coverage makes your readers turn the page (or multiple pages)

• From Organizations, a story on Key Club jumps to the Senior section, highlighting graduates at the Key Club banquet
• A student life story about the school’s first dance could send readers to the 6^th Grade spread with poll results on how many attended the dance
• Cover individual sports that students play outside of school hours and then link those captions to the same students on their mug page

Jump coverage, while commonly used in magazines and newspapers, is showing up more often in yearbooks. This is when a story continues on a second page, forcing the reader to jump to another location—either the very next page or sometimes an entirely different section of the book. Jump coverage works best when the book’s theme sets up the situation, like “There’s More to the Story” and “From Here to There.”

We see this used a lot with an extended opening, but don’t just stop with the obvious. Using jump coverage, a story on Key Club can jump to the Senior section, highlighting graduates at the Key Club banquet. A student life story about the school’s first dance, could send readers to the 6^th Grade spread with poll results on how many attended the dance.

Of course jump coverage requires good planning because it’s only successful when you give the page number for the follow-up story. Also, don’t pass up opportunities to link your main story to a sidebar on a different location—anything that keeps your students turning those pages!

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “J” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

Ladder (rhymes with ladder) is your organizational road map. Make sure yours is complete, accurate, and where everyone can see it.

• Don’t just use the same ladder year to year. Recreate it every fall with a new staff and fresh ideas
• Ask yourself if your particular theme needs a different approach to organization (e.g. chronological approach? Three sections instead of five?)
• Include all pertinent information on the ladder: topic, due date, student(s) assigned, etc.
• Cool tip: laminate a fresh wall ladder and use overhead projector pens to write on it. It is much easier to make changes/corrections that way

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “L” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

If possible, make room in your book for dividers: double-page spreads that separate or introduce a new section in the yearbook.

• They set the tone for the next section
• They reinforce the theme of the book, both visually and verbally
• Include great action photos that make the reader excited to turn the page
• Sometimes have a mini table of contents for that section

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “D” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

What do yearbooks and
prom dresses have in common? Both require good coverage! You can’t
skimp out on topics just because you think they are boring, so try to
follow a good coverage formula:

• Student Life = 25% of your book
• Academics = 15 - 20%
• Clubs/Organizations = 10 - 15%
• Sports = 15 - 20%
• People = 25 - 30%

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook”
project. If you’d like to download the “C” card, go to the “Adviser
Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…

• Favorite classes when your teachers were in school (extra points for getting a picture of them from their own yearbook)
• Cover all classes like AVID, wood shop, drama
• Timely events like how budget cuts impacted the classroom and some of the items teachers are paying for
• New classes in the master schedule
• Take pictures of teachers and students in action (raising their hands, giving a presentation, mixing chemicals, etc.)

*This entry is part of “The Yearbook Ladies’ A to Zs of Yearbook” project. If you’d like to download the “A” card, go to the “Adviser Resources” section of www.theyearbookladies.com

We’d love to hear from you! Share your questions, comments, and ideas below…