Getting your yearbook ready to print is an exciting milestone. After the many hours spent deciding upon your yearbook theme, creating the content and designing the layout, it’s almost ready to print!
One your yearbook team has decided your yearbook is print-ready, one final step remains. And it’s an important one! Before you submit your yearbook to print, you need to do a thorough proofreading.
The day has arrived! Your new yearbook is here! You open up the glossy pages, and smile. The layout is perfect. The content is engaging! It’s truly a yearbook to be proud of. Until you notice… “Oh no! How did we miss that spelling error?”
Is there anything more frustrating than finding a grammar or spelling mistake after your yearbook has been printed?
Proofing your yearbook is an important step. It’s one that requires great attention to detail! To help guide you through this important process, here are our tips on how to proofread your school yearbook.
Establish a Yearbook Style Guide
Inconsistent spelling and capitalization are one of the easiest ways to get called out. Make sure that your entire yearbook editorial team is working from the same style guide.
Outline spelling conventions, as well as capitalization and punctuation guidelines. Your yearbook style guide can be established in advance. This also helps your writers create content that is already in line with your style guide.
Preview Your Yearbook Digitally
Previewing your yearbook digitally will give you a good idea of what the final print will look like. It also gives you the opportunity to see the text highlights, calls to action and captions as they will appear.
The truth is, sometimes it’s easier to spot mistakes when you’re looking at the final product. It can be too easy to gloss over typos or grammar errors if you’re doing nothing more than looking at a word document! With YearbookLife’s Design Software, you can preview your yearbook digitally to get your yearbook proofreading process underway.
Prepare
It can be tempting to start the proofreading process right after finishing the writing process. However, this isn’t always the best idea! Creating the yearbook content uses the creative part of your brain. Proofreading, on the other hand, requires the analytical, detail-oriented side of your brain.
Make sure that your yearbook content is complete before you start proofreading. Begin the process with fresh eyes. If you have stuck to your yearbook deadlines, you should have plenty of time!
Work with a Team
Proofread your yearbook with a team. Make sure that you have multiple pairs of eyes reviewing the content. You’ll be surprised how many mistakes can be missed by one person!
Ensure that you have a process in place to highlight any mistakes that the team catches. You may opt for a collaborative spreadsheet or add notes directly onto the page. Whichever way you choose to track things, make sure it is consistent across the team.
Take Your Time
Proofreading your yearbook isn’t something that you should rush. Make sure you are taking your time to read through the content. Check headlines, captions, content, snippets, quotes, etc. And make sure that names are spelled correctly underneath the portraits! There is nothing worse than having a student’s name misspelled or wrong.
You may even want to break up your proofreading process. For example:
- Start with only looking for misspellings.
- Go back and reread the content, this time looking for punctuation issues.
- On the third pass, look for grammatical errors.
- Finally, make sure someone has compared the school roster to the portraits.
Read Out Loud
Sometimes, especially if we have written the content, we ‘read’ what we are expecting to read. And the truth is, what we think we’re reading isn’t always correct!
Reading something out loud can often help identify mistakes we hadn’t previously noticed.
Make Any Necessary Updates
Once you’ve done your first review, it’s time to go back and make any necessary changes. Make sure you then go back and proofread thoroughly!
Order a Yearbook Proof
When you’re confident that you’ve proofread your yearbook thoroughly, it’s time to order a printed yearbook proof, if available. This will show you the final yearbook layout. Remember to look again for any clear mistakes. The proof will also let you see if there are any issues with page bleeds or photo placements.
Need Help? Have a Question? Contact Us Today!
YearbookLife offers a wide range of yearbook publishing and printing services. Our customer support team is always on hand and ready to help you with your yearbook creation process. Request your yearbook sample by clicking here.