Echowan sold 604 yearbooks this year, nearly making its 700-book goal according to Echowan adviser Julianne Herbert.

The self-sustained yearbook put in its order to its publisher, Balfour, Jan. 27. Herbert said selling yearbooks is not easy.

“It’s a struggle every year to sell yearbooks and to pay our cost, which is around $57,000,” Herbert said.

Echowan’s staff recently put up posters around the school, made school-wide announcements and posted on multiple social media sites, including Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat encouraging students to order their yearbooks before its Jan. 21 deadline.

Senior sales manager Gabrielle Martinez said despite the struggle to sell enough yearbooks, she believes next year’s content will be just fine.

“We started off pretty strong with sales, then had a pretty long lull,” Martinez said. “But as of now, we should be fine with our sales for next year’s book.”

Although Echowan did not meet its goal, it still sold enough books for next year’s yearbook to go without any cuts or major changes, such as being printed in black and white, going without baby ads and have major cutting according to Herbert.

Herbert said the senior baby and business advertisements help to keep the cost down.

“We fundraise mainly in ad sales and baby ads, and we recognize that $65 is a lot of money, but these funds help to make the cost of the book much lower than what it would be without them,” Herbert said.

Herbert also said Balfour sends about 40 extra yearbooks in case of damages, which allows for some students to buy their yearbook in the spring when they are distributed.

Senior Michael Scheie said Echowan’s posters around the school really encourage students to buy.

Scheie also said he likes the yearbook because it can bring back old memories.

“It’s a good thing to help people remember what happened throughout high school,” Scheie said.

Unlike Scheie, freshman Alondra Liz-Fonts said she did not buy her yearbook.

“I didn’t buy it, because it was just too expensive for a yearbook,” Liz-Fonts said.

Martinez said she believes the yearbook allows students to look back on their high school lives, no matter how old they are.

“When you’re looking back at your yearbook 20 years from now, it’s cool to see what you looked like and what you did and to show your kids the boy you kissed freshman year,” Martinez said.