Create a yearbook commission filled with both faculty and students to handle the project. Divide up the work amongst the commission. For example, a group of students should handle captions, another can handle sports photos and another group can handle class photos. Divide work in the most pragmatic way possible considering your school's size and other pertinent information.
Start accumulating information, such as student names and photographs, at the beginning of the year. A yearbook is a running history of the entire year and your work needs to reflect this. Furthermore, early preparation allows you to estimate the final size of the yearbook. Use websites such as Facebook to gather information on fellow students.
Decide on a final theme for the yearbook. The theme partially determines the layout and the complexity of added graphics in the final product. This, in turn, determines how much the final product costs. The more complicated the theme, the more costly the yearbook turns out.
Call several yearbook vendors around the nation to get price quotes and to receive samples of previous work. Yearbooks cost a significant amount of money to make, so make sure you choose a company which can produce a final product everyone enjoys. Also, ask whether the yearbook company allows for late-stage changes if necessary. This gives you more freedom to add information to the yearbook.
Choose the yearbook supply company that quotes the best price for a hardback yearbook for the product and service offered. Remember, the lowest-priced vendor may not produce the best product. Compare multiple companies to ensure you get the most out of what you pay.
Ask for several hard copies of the yearbook throughout the year to proofread. You cannot check the progress of the work on a computer file. You must use hard copies to ensure the final page layouts and page numbers are correct. Before the deadline, ask for a final hard copy to proof. This way, you can change all mistakes before you deadline passes.