How to Prepare Between Publishing Your Book and Distribution Day
By Nicole Hammond, Creator Studio Training and Content Manager
Once you’ve ordered your yearbooks, the FIRST thing you should do is pat yourself on the back! Congratulations on putting your book to bed!
Do it quickly though – there’s work to do while you wait approx. 3 weeks for your books to be delivered.
Whether you are the whole staff, or you are in charge of the yearbook staff, use the following suggestions to plan now for next year while you wait on your book delivery:
Brainstorm themes for 2022
Magazines are a great place to get inspired! Also think about any special anniversaries, updates or events for your school community, and think about featuring one of those.
Complete an evaluation of the yearbook process.
What worked? What didn’t? What should you implement for next year? (Even if you are the only staff member, this is a good thing to do. Just don’t talk to yourself out loud…)
Have profit?
Decide what your staff might need to spend it on! Camera? Laptop? Yard signs? Taco bar?
Recruit! Recruit! Recruit!
If you have a student staff, talk to teachers for recommendations! Create an application for new staff members (plan to ask them to write a few paragraphs so that you can see not only their writing ability, but also their level of commitment). If you rely on volunteers, poll the parents to see who will be helping again next year, and ask for suggestions of new parents to help.
Plan your Distribution Party!
That’s right. I said party! Distribution is a perfect time to drive and increase yearbook sales! (Find all kinds of fun ideas in ‘How to Throw a Distribution Event’)
Once you have finished your “waiting period” assignments, and the books arrive, it’s time to open the boxes! First, download the distribution list from your storefront. The manifest that comes with your printed books is NOT a distribution list! Go to your storefront, click on “view order reports” and download the report! Once you export and download, you can manipulate the file any way necessary.
Finally, and this is so, so important:
Please open the boxes of yearbooks ASAP, take them out and inspect them for any defects!
Then, count them and make sure that the number of books shipped is equal to the number of books purchased, and the number of books in your manifest.
Our #1 goal is to delight you with your books! Our expectation is that they will be beautifully printed and bound, and delivered to you, correctly, in a timely manner! If for any reason that is not your experience, please tell us right away! To do that:
Take pictures (print issue, pages falling out, etc)
Email the images and the issue to your CSS. Include your account email address, any relevant page numbers and/or order number.
If parents believe they didn’t get their ordered book, check the store report to see if they ordered. If they did order, and don’t have a book, send the order # to your CSS and they will take care of it. If there is no record of the order, have the parent call/email parent support: support@picabooyearbooks.com or 855.537.0050.
And, as always, if we can help you in any way, please contact us! Enjoy your books – and your summer break!