Dear

Violet
A student editor’s guide
to ruling a yearbook

By: Jenna DeWitt

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School Name: Clovis High School

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Note: This book was written originally in May 2007 by an 18-year-old graduating senior yearbook editor as a guide for future
editors of the Plainsman, the Clovis High School yearbook in Clovis, N.M., but also to fill a need in the wider yearbook commu-
nity. Necessity is the mother of invention, after all. The book was re-edited and adapted for a wider yearbook audience in July
2010. Please feel free to distribute this little guide to journalism educators and student editors that might have need of it. Also, I
would love to hear your feedback and about your experiences using this in scholastic journalism. Let me know by e-mailing me
at jennadewitt@gmail.com. Enjoy.

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Dear Violet,

This book is for all of the past and future editors of the Clovis High School
Plainsman, their staffs, and all other loyal and true yearbook “nerds”.
Inspired by the book, “Dear Viola” by William Bridges, this is a small instruc-
tion book to living up to the title and reputation of yearbook editor.

This book is written for you, hypothetical Violet, to help you and guide
you in the ways of an editor. Know that you are not alone. See that volume
number on the spine of last year’s book? That’s how many editors that have
gone before you. Just like you they stressed out at deadline, yelled at their
staffs, apologized to their staffs, cried from frustration and cried from joy
when they first saw their beautiful new yearbook.

They too were expected to take on the challenge I now pose to you: Love
your book. Love it so much that you are willing to put it before selfishness,
inconvenience, and stubbornness. I wish I could say that then your entire
staff will love it too, but that will not always be the case. I can say though that
if you don’t love your yearbook, it’s not worth being editor.

On the other hand, if you truly love your book, being editor will be worth
every minute. The pride, the honor, and the dignity of this great tradition are
all in your hands. Your job is like no other. May you come to love your year-
book and your staff more with every spread. May you choose to make this
experience one of the best and most meaningful of your high school years.
May you lead your staff with the passion and determination of leaders that
have gone before, leaders brave enough to be yearbook editors.

Congratulations,

Jenna DeWitt
Plainsman yearbook editor
2006-2007
Clovis High School
Clovis, NM

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From the Very Beginning of the Year...
Throughout my year as junior editor, I made a list of things I needed to remember
to make my year as senior editor better. This list included many lessons learned the
hard way. It started with my frustration at trying to match up too many teeny tiny lines
that made up the heartbeat or “live wire” graphic we used to further our theme, LIVE.
It was a really cool graphic, but wasted so much valuable time that I vowed not to
use any complicated line graphics in my book.
The second thing on my list was to design a better deadline check list. I have
included sample deadline and proof check lists for you to use, feel free to make
changes according to your system and staff. I cannot stress to you how important it
is to keep these up to date. They will be your best friend when deadline gets chaotic.
You can easily see which spreads are still not finished and who is doing their work.
It is also helpful as a gauge for you as an editor. Since it is divided into sections, it
shows which sections need more of your attention or need to be reminded of just
how quickly deadline is approaching.
On a similar note, from the beginning of the year picture folders need to stay orga-
nized. It is your job to make sure everyone knows the system for organizing photo
files on the server and maintains that system. Not doing this will only result in hours
of links problems.
Back to the list I made my junior year: “keep ladder updated” required making the
effort to sync my deadline sheets and the big overall plan that the entire staff sees.
Trust me, an editor can avoid much confusion by making the ladder completely reli-
able. Yup, add “making and keeping up the ladder” to our long job description.
Another super important listed item is “maintain section unity”. Depending on your
staff and your leadership style, the section editors can play a huge role in this one. In
fact, it is really their purpose. “Section unity” includes design consistency, teamwork,
assigning spreads/duties to individual staffers and making sure those spreads are
done at deadline, no matter which team member they were assigned to. Templates
will help you edit for design consistency. Make sure they are exactly as they will
appear in the book, so that all that needs to be done is inserting pictures, copy and
photo credits. Even include the exact size and design of your folio to prevent over-
lapping pictures and graphics. If any changes need to be made to the template, trash
the old one!
When templates are finished, print all of them, including the ones that you will
design, and arrange them in order of how the book is actually going to be. This will
help you visualize the design flow of the book. Even more useful, throughout the
year when you are editing you will know if a box gets moved, which teeny pictures
have an outline, or how long captions are supposed to be.

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My List of (Yearbook) Lessons Learned
Here is a list of the most important ones. The following pages go into more detail
about this list and how you can learn from my mistakes and experiences.

++ Stay away from complicated graphics

++ Keep an easy-to-read chart for staying organized at deadline
++ Have business manager keep a poster for the staff telling which
businesses have been asked to buy an ad.
++ Keep picture folders organized
++ Make sure everyone knows the organization of the server
++ Make the ladder so that everything is covered right after it takes place and the
number of spreads on each deadline are relatively equal
++ Keep the ladder updated
++ Maintain section unity
++ Keep accurate copies of all templates
++ Avoid using the one-word topic of the spread as the headline
++ Teach the staff how to use spell check
++ No posed pictures!
++ If using photo requests, make sure the name of the staffer that needs it is on
the request
++ Fix all corrections on a spread before reprinting
++ Must have a clean reprint before submitting
++ Print immediately after exporting as a .pdf
++ The staffer or section editor needs to help fix proof corrections
++ Teach staff how to interview, not to say “Gimme a quote!”
++ Practice cobbing pictures
++ Stay on task, “staff bonding” will be stronger if it is from working together, not
wasting time together
++ What is best for the book is number one on the yearbook priority list
++ Just because we did it last year doesn’t make it right!

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My List of (Leadership) Lessons
Learned
A dear yearbook friend, who would have been my co-editor had she not moved,
attended a journalism camp in New York. The professionals speaking there included
Jeannie Park, executive editor of People magazine. Ms. Park gave my friend this
list of leadership advice, which she passed on to me. Take it to heart, these words
helped me a great deal, not just in yearbook, but in life as well.

Don’t:
++ Play favorites
++ Be a control freak
++ Force people to be something they are not
++ Be afraid to make mistakes
++ Be petty
++ Let enthusiasm fall

Do:
++ Number ONE: Remember the big picture!
++ Build a team. Every position counts
++ Have a team of diversity
++ Find and develop trusted deputies that you can trust completely
++ Spread tasks and allow people to grow
++ Stay true to yourself
++ Embrace change
++ HAVE FUN!
++ Listen to your gut
++ Give explanations for why things don’t “go” or “work that way”
++ Know your boundaries
++ Be respectful of the fact that you are their peer
++ Vision is your most important quality
++ A Leader: sets direction, goals, tone, mission, and inspiration

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You Can’t Do It Alone
You will need help. It’s ok. Don’t try to do everything yourself, because you will not suc-
ceed. The easiest way to not have to do everything yourself is to use your section editors
and business manager. Also don’t be afraid to ask questions, consult and share reason-
able concerns with your adviser.

Section editors
+If you can’t teach a concept to everyone at once, teach it to them first so they can
help you teach the rest of the staff.
+ Have them edit spreads on the computer or on a print out before they are ready to
go to you. It will allow you to focus on more important things than missing commas.
+ Make the staff go to their section editor first for easy questions.
Examples: “What’s the grid structure again?” “How do I spell check?”
Business Manager
+ Managers need to be responsible for keeping track of which businesses have
been asked, and which have agreed, to buy an ad.
+ Have him or her keep a big poster updated of who sold what ad, who needs to
check back with a business, and a list of the businesses that have refused.
+ Keep staff informed about who is in the book and use this information as a sales
tool. If someone doesn’t think they will be in the book, they won’t buy one. Prove
them wrong and they just might buy a book!
Adviser
+ He/she is there to help and advise- hence the title “adviser”.
+ You are blessed if you have an adviser that believes in student publications being
pretty much completely student led. Hint: that means led by you. He/she won’t do
your job for you, but he/she is there to tell you the best ways of doing it and help
YOU make important decisions.
+ Your adviser generally knows what he/she’s talking about. Respect him/her.
+ You are in a position that deserves and requires more trust and responsibility than
almost any other student leadership position. You will have to earn that trust and
responsibility. Also, once lost, it is very hard to get back. Your adviser is forgiving,
but not stupid. He/she will do what is best for the book, even when the staff doesn’t.
+ You will not agree on everything, trust me. It does help if you both understand
each other’s opinions enough to know why you don’t agree. He/she may not
realize you don’t know what on earth he/she is talking about.
+ Be honest with your adviser and the entire staff. It is ok not to know something. It
will save you many humbling experiences.

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Before you start the book!
Your staff probably includes some rookies that think a ladder is something to
climb on and a spread is a form of margarine. In other words, they are going to
need to learn a whole new language, one that probably comes so natural to you,
that you don’t know it is a different language!
Trust me, I had 24 newbies, hopefully you won’t ever have to teach that many,
but there will almost always be a few. Start by showing them examples of what you
are talking about. Break up the terms into topics: design, copy, content, organiza-
tion... you get the point. Then point out examples, defining them in simple, non-
yearbook terms.
When they are ready, introduce basic design. They need to know the rules
before they can break them effectively. Practice drawing designs out on paper, then
on the computer with the same software program and grid structure they will be
using all year. This will not only teach them design, but how to work the computer,
keep your organization system, log onto the server, and use the software the right
way. If you have more people than computers, which is likely, pair newbies with
experienced staffers, but make sure the newbies are in control of the computer so
they can learn by doing.
After turning in decent designs, work on caption writing. Before you get started
I highly suggest going through the yearbook chapter of The Radical Write with the
class. Get pictures from previous years or from magazines and have your staff
answer the 5 “W”s (who, what, where, when, and why). Then show them basic
form. Have them “interview” the person next to them for information about the
event and a quote. This exercise builds writing and interviewing skills while estab-
lishing your copy style. Make sure everyone is on the same page about your style,
because that is where most of their mistakes will be. Yes, this is frustrating, but
rushing this will result in more trouble for the editor (you) later.

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Brainstorm
If you have decided for sure on your theme, general design, and design element(s),
and your staff is ready, brainstorm for coverage ideas with everyone. How can you
convey your theme through your content? Student Life will probably require the
most ideas. While it is not necessary to come up with all new, completely different
topics to cover, you should explore different angles of a topic. For example. “Jobs”
has been done for years, but in different ways. You can cover students working to
buy a car, learning a trade, working for their parents, or anything else you can think
of. It is very important that the entire staff feels included on this though. There will
be plenty of opportunity for critiquing their ideas later.

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In control, not control freak
The absolute hardest thing for an editor is knowing when to trust the staff. There will
be times when you just have to trust that they will do their job on time. More frequently
though, you should remember that they are not as experienced and probably not as
obsessed you are.
So how do you increase the chances that they can be trusted? Lead by example.
It is the only way you will gain the respect of your staff, and for that matter, of your
adviser. Walk around during class time, check up on every one of them, even if it
looks like they are working, just sit and have them tell you about what they are doing.
You will be able to prevent many mistakes and solve their problems faster if you know
how they are doing what they are doing.
Stay calm and focused, not only will you be more productive but your staff will be
more likely to be productive. They may not always take your same attitude about their
work, but they will know what it is expected of them.
Be careful not to be too controlling though. They need to learn by doing it them-
selves. Learn to let go and tell them the steps they need. Even though it seems faster
and easier to ‘just do it yourself’, having to do everything for everyone every time is
not even a possibility, especially when the entire staff needs your help with technologi-
cal difficulties anyway.
Which leads to my next point: the better your communication, the better your
chances of eliminating excuses, keeping things friendly and raising respect on both
ends. There is a fine balance at stake when judging when to take over a spread and
when to back off. An editor cannot afford the reputation of being overbearing or a con-
trol-freak, as those only result in not being taken seriously by the staff.
However, it is your duty to make sure deadlines are met on time, no matter what.
Even if the staffer working on a spread transfers classes to be in Baking, no one
knows how to get the team pictures, four huge batches of proofs come in the week
of deadline and the entire staff has after school jobs, activities during work nights, no
cameras and no cars, it is still your responsibility to do everything you possibly can
to get it done.
It will not be like that every day, but when it does happen, you do need to be able to
handle it. You can do it, if you couldn’t, your adviser wouldn’t have named you editor.
A healthy degree of control starts with a healthy dose of self-confidence. Show your
staff their potential by believing in your own potential. But don’t get overconfident.
Remember through it all, the best leader has the heart of a servant. That doesn’t
mean that you have to do everything, but it does mean that you have to be willing to
do just about anything. Once again, it is the only way you will gain the respect of your
staff, adviser and school.

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Deadline Checklists? (Check!)
After as many deadlines I have been through, I have almost perfected the art of the
deadline chart. I organized my handmade charts differently every deadline, each
time making improvements and adjustments. Every deadline I would get my purple
gel pen and sparkling purple spiral and make my way around the room. If I couldn’t
see the spread for some reason, I kept up with them verbally. I asked for the status
of every spread, never accepting “ok” as an answer. I gave them hints to get them
started. I made sure pictures were being taken. Later, I asked what they still needed
and to see their progress. If they needed more help, I found out who could take pic-
tures, when they could go, and reminded them to get names, grades, and quotes at
the same time. No matter how talented and responsible your staff is they will need
these reminders too. Yes, add this to your list of duties, “keep staff accountable”.

Recipe for a successful deadline

+ Look at the ladder, write down on your deadline sheets which
staffer is responsible for what
+ Make sure each staffer knows what they are doing, which template
they are using, and what needs to be covered on the spread before
it is too late. For example, taken from actual conversations with staffers-
“I have three spreads this deadline?” “But this sport (or club) needs two
group pictures!” “Oh, you mean I have to include more than one religion
on the religions spread?!”.
+ As they are working, walk around the room, looking over shoulders
and answering questions.
+ Make sure you communicate with every staffer about every spread.
+ Ask to see every spread either on a print-out or on the computer as
often as possible.
+ Do your own spreads outside of class time. That will be one less
computer that will be busy when someone desperately needs it.
+ Make the staff deadline (the one for a grade) the Monday before
you have to mail. That way you will have an entire week to edit and
solve any unexpected problems.

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 Deadline ____
Student Life
Staffer Page #s Spread Printed Submitted On CD

Academics

Clubs

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 Deadline ____
Faces
Staffer Page #s Spread Printed Submitted On CD

Sports

Community

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10 Steps on How to End a Deadline
1. Make sure every staffer has saved under the correct deadline folder.
2. Make sure every staffer has a perfect print-out, printed after final edits
3. Put a check mark in the deadline sheet column after they have put their printed
pages in individual page envelopes in the appropriate box, their spread is in the
Ready to Submit folder, and you have placed the Ready to Submit folder on the CD.
4. Always open the Ready to Submit folder on the CD’s burn file and check off the
spreads on the deadline sheets after you see them in the folder.
5. Burn the CD before or at the beginning of class the day of deadline. Sometimes it
takes a while.
6. When it is finished burning, put the CD in a case and the case in a cardboard
envelope.
7. Put the cardboard CD envelope into the mailing box, stick on the address sheet
and tape up the box.
9. Drop off at UPS, take your copy of the address sheet because they will hand it
back to you anyway. Thank the nice mailing people.
10. Congratulations!!! Now RELAX for the weekend and get started on next deadline
on Monday!

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Folios
Folios. They sound so yearbook jargon-y. Really, all it is is a page number,
spread name and section name. It’s just a small little graphic, but it can cause so
much frustration.
+ Since folios are supposed to be in the same place throughout the book (or
section if you are getting creative), they need to be placed with precision.
+ They also need to be small enough that they don’t interfere with the spread’s
design, but big enough so that the words are easily read.
+ I would suggest using a six point font, only using the same fonts you pick as
your headline and copy fonts.
+ Just open up a yearbook spread and create your folio the size you want it, in
the place you want it. When you have it exactly like you want it to be throughout
the entire book, go to Object, Lock Position (or Apple L if you like shortcuts). This
will prevent AFM disease, Accidental Folio Movement. It is a chronic disease and
once it starts it is contagious throughout the entire deadline and hard to stop. Oh,
and when creating it, just put the words “section” and “spread” wherever the staff
needs to put those names so they don’t flip-flop them.
+ Save the folio to a place that is easy to access so staffers can find it. Though
it can technically be called a folio “template”, don’t save it as one or it will create
and open a copy every time someone wants folios. When you are done you will
be left with a folder full of folio templates.
+ The big question is: how do I get the folio on every page?
1. Select the entire folio and copy.
2. Go to your spread, double click on the A-Master icon.
3. Right click, hit Paste-in-Place. It may not be exactly perfectly in place, but
it will at least be pretty close. Just use the arrow keys to nudge the entire
folio over a bit. I don’t advise pasting normally. It will put it in the middle
of the page, forcing you to place it in the exact spot yourself, resulting in
AFM again.
4. FYI-Placing the folio on the masters instead of the actual spread is
not just an extra step. It will do wonders to prevent AFM disease.
5. Just don’t forget to change the page number and name on the folio after
you have pasted it.

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Design Rules
Design is one of those parts of a yearbook that readers don’t think they know any-
thing about, yet can critique like crazy. We are so exposed to creative design in
advertisements, magazines and the internet that a design has to be clean, simple
and eye-catching in order to get the desired reaction it deserves. Sounds kind of
overwhelming, huh? There are a few guidelines to follow to make your design look
like a pro’s, or at least help the design “flow” logically.

1. Most important- Make the spread look like a target. Pictures need to be in the
center-ish, text on the outside edges of the pictures, and white space around the
edges of the page.
2. Use your grids! I like 20 by 16 on the InDesign grids (go Layout, Create Guides,
and type in 20 in the first box and 16 in the second.) Everything must stop at the
grids inside of the pica spacing.
3. Keep an eyeline going across the spread. Nothing can “break” the eyeline (cross
the boundaries). It needs to be a pica for it to be obvious.
4. Keep text on either side of the gutter. The only things that can cross the gutter
are some design elements and pictures (when placed with no faces or other impor-
tant elements in the gutter). Seasoned yearbook advisers have many horror stories
of headlines crossing the gutter, ending up in disastrous consequences.
5. Every spread needs a dominant photo. This is usually the biggest element on the
spread and the best picture in both action and quality.
6. Every picture needs a caption. Even teeny tiny pictures should have a photo
credit and the name and grade of the person in the picture. Be sure to leave enough
space for text when designing, keeping in mind you will have to fill it.
7. If you do break these rules, know why. Make sure it does not distract from the
content. Bleed photos, sidebars that break eyelines, montages serving as the domi-
nant element instead of a single picture; there are many common ways of breaking
the rules without going overboard.
8. Try to include either long captions or sufficient copy in order to cover the spread’s
topic thoroughly. You are the leader of a group of writers, journalists. The story
is what will turn the spread from average quality to honorable quality, the kind that
makes yearbook worth reading. It is a book after all.

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How to Cob a Photo
Originally by Jarin Martin.
Edited by Jenna DeWitt

1. Scan or upload the picture and save it as a JPEG.

2. Open Adobe Photoshop
3. Open the picture
4. Zoom in a lot.
5. Select the Magnetic Lasso tool. If it is not the magnetic one, click and hold on
the Lasso to get the list of Lassos, select the one with the horse shoe magnet.
6. Click at the top of the image where you want to cob. Go around the part you
want to cob. Double click when you are completely finished with the cob (when
you reach where you started).
7. Next go to the Paths tab and click the little tiny arrow for the sub-menu. then
select Make a Work Path.
8. Then go back to the arrow, go to Save Path. Click OK on the pop-up. Do not
change anything in the little box.
9. Go back in to the arrow’s sub-menu and choose Clipping Path. Click OK and
once again, don’t change anything in the little pop-up box.
10. Then save the picture as a TIFF, not a JPEG!
11. When this box pops up, click NONE on image compression, if not already se-
lected. Then click OK.
12. If you need to cut out more than one section, repeat steps four through eleven.
13. When you are done, feathering and other effects can be used to make it look
smoother and more natural. Go to Select and Feather, type in the amount of feather-
ing you need. Click OK.
14. To place on the page go to File and Place (or shortcut Apple D). It will probably
be really big, just use the selection tool (arrow) to drag the corners in.

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Make Wise (Design Element) Choices!
The heartbeat graphic in my junior yearbook, (Plainsman 2006) was very hard to
keep consistent and put together. Do I regret using the graphic? No, it linked the
theme to every spread, furthered our theme development and added a trendy visu-
ally appealing tool for connecting grouped elements. Will I be eager to do it again?
Not soon. Lesson learned? Make sure your graphic doesn’t consume all of your time
and stress-tolerance.

I said the heartbeat was good because it furthered our theme. This is a very impor-
tant quality in a design element. In order for a theme to be a success, it needs to
be obviously conveyed throughout the book.

A strong design element can help, not only in improving the quality of an individual
spread’s design, but also in the design flow of the entire book. It also needs to be
original enough that judges and readers will not get tired of it and you will not run out
of ways to incorporate it into every section.

One way that a designer can avoid over-using a graphic is to vary its use. A line
graphic can be used as a linking element to connect photos with captions, cobs with
quotes, headlines with subheads and anything else you can think of. A color graphic,
like our Plainsman 2007 fading gradient (the gradient on the cover of this book),
can be used in headlines, as a background, a sidebar or inside of line elements.
For more ideas check out magazines with solid design. Notice the little graphics in
television or print ads that are easily recognizable. For example, anytime there are
M-shaped golden arches, people think of McDonalds. Notice how many different
ways the Target people form their circle-in-a-circle design element: pots and pans,
dog spots, camera lenses jewelry... and that’s all in one 30-second commercial!

Just make sure though, with all this creativity flowing, that your graphic doesn’t
become too distracting. Remember, your purpose is to enhance the content, not to
distract from it.

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Staff + Editor Relations
When you first meet your staff, you need to assert your dignity as their leader.
This is usually done with a game like Simon Says. (Just kidding. Don’t put yourself
on any sort of pedestal above them or they will cry “mutiny” faster than a speeding
deadline.)

Seriously, you need to tell them what you expect before you yell at them for mess-
ing it up and make sure they are comfortable coming to you with their questions.
Holding a workshop before the actual deadlines get flowing is a great way to do this.
Not only will they know what to do before homework, sports and other organizations
get in the way, but they will have friends on staff before the stresses of the real work
begins.

Important to repeat throughout the year is the topic of “good journalism”. Teach
them to ask questions, not only for quotes (instead of asking “can you gimme
a quote?”), but also for information to put in copy and pictures. Teach them to
research. Teach them to ask for opinions, find out facts and distinguish between the
two. Get them to write down the questions they want to ask (a great time-filler for
staffers that claim to have nothing to do).

Don’t be afraid to hold staff meetings if there is something you need to tell every-
one. In fact, I recommend doing this once a week. Also, if it is information relevant to
people absent, make it a point to tell them when they come back. It is not their fault
for not knowing simply because they were not there, but it is easy to forget who all
has been taught what.

Be sure to tell them you are there as part of them, not as a “superior” (and mean
it). The yearbook will only be as good as your leadership skills and editing combined
with their willingness to follow you and their work that results.

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Except for copies made for educational use, all content copyright of Jenna DeWitt including “Dear Violet” name and all informa-
tion herein. So feel free to share the love with student journalists and educators!

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