WHAT IS THE LADDER?
The ladder is an excel spreadsheet that includes all of the information that is going on every single page of the book. This is particularly important for traditional and umbrella books because content needs to be planned for each page before the year even begins. It is also important for chron books because you want to make sure you have enough spreads planned for each week. Below I have included ladder templates based on the umbrella book (WAIT YOU'RE GONNA NEED THIS) and the chron book (this is your freedom) that I made. When making the ladder, the first thing that I did was count the number of people pages and portraits for each grade from the previous year's book and allocated these amount of spreads for each grade. The ladder can be changed as the year goes on, but having a rough estimate of the number of portraits is important because it is the first thing people look at when they get the book. The next thing that I did was look at the amount of club pages from the previous year and allowed this many pages plus one because there are always new clubs being formed (this page can always be moved to people pages later if needed). Personally, (for umbrella and chron) I like to set up the book with the content pages, then the sports pages, then clubs, then the portraits, followed by the baby ads. That makes the most sense to me, but feel free to move the order around (but baby ads are always last, and usually next to the portraits). I would not suggest putting the baby ad pages directly after the senior pages because you never know how many baby ad spread you are going to sell, and it is hard to guess at the beginning of the year. Once you have the numbers for those pages and the order that you want, assign them pages in the ladder. Usually our books have 216 pages (this is your freedom had 212 because we allocated for too many baby ad spreads) and there are a few things that HAVE to be included in the ladder no matter what type of book you are doing.
-title page (always the first page)
-opening (usually one or two pages, but can be up to 4 or 5 if doing traditional)
-spring supplement insert page (This is optional, it can also be stuck in the back, but I HIGHLY recommend having an insert page because it flows better and makes it easier for readers. This page comes right before the sports, clubs, people page groups start.)
-fall and winter sport pages
-championship spread (this is the spread where all of the conference, regional, and state scores and pictures for fall and winter sports go)
-senior thanks (this page is optional. I really like it because it gives the opportunity to cover more seniors, but it's up to you. It can be a whole spread or a half spread.)
-grade mini dividers (again, this is also optional, but I recommend them to break up the grade portraits and acknowledge the class officers)
-topical index (also optional but recommended so that people have a quick reference. If there is not enough room for a half spread I recommend doing what I did in WAIT YOU'RE GONNA NEED THIS)
-colophon (a page with all of the nitty gritty details of the book and a page dedicated to the staff!)
-closing (the last spread that resembles the opening but with details about the year as a whole)
-parting page (a follow up to the closing and a look to the next year)
-title page (always the first page)
-opening (usually one or two pages, but can be up to 4 or 5 if doing traditional)
-spring supplement insert page (This is optional, it can also be stuck in the back, but I HIGHLY recommend having an insert page because it flows better and makes it easier for readers. This page comes right before the sports, clubs, people page groups start.)
-fall and winter sport pages
-championship spread (this is the spread where all of the conference, regional, and state scores and pictures for fall and winter sports go)
-senior thanks (this page is optional. I really like it because it gives the opportunity to cover more seniors, but it's up to you. It can be a whole spread or a half spread.)
-grade mini dividers (again, this is also optional, but I recommend them to break up the grade portraits and acknowledge the class officers)
-topical index (also optional but recommended so that people have a quick reference. If there is not enough room for a half spread I recommend doing what I did in WAIT YOU'RE GONNA NEED THIS)
-colophon (a page with all of the nitty gritty details of the book and a page dedicated to the staff!)
-closing (the last spread that resembles the opening but with details about the year as a whole)
-parting page (a follow up to the closing and a look to the next year)