[Shethink13]

You would normally pay for your school yearbook before the school year ends and then pick it up at the beginning of the next school year.

Well that would suck for graduating seniors, wouldn't it?

[smokingfrog]

Distribution

Often, yearbooks are distributed at the end of a school year to allow students, teachers, and other members of the school to obtain the books and signatures/personal messages from classmates. In the U.S., those that distribute at this time may publish a supplemental insert with photographs from spring sports and milestone events (such as prom and graduation) and other important events. Many schools at which yearbooks are distributed at or before the end of a school year have a tradition of having students sign and leave notes on each other’s yearbooks.

Some schools distribute yearbooks after the end of the school year—such as in July, at homecoming (US) in October or another designated time in order to include year-end activities. In some cases, yearbooks are mailed to the parents’ homes of graduated seniors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yearbook

If you publish before the end of the year, you don’t have photos of the senior graduation, top scholars etc. in the yearbook. I guess maybe trends have changed over the years.