Writing, Developing, and Publishing Your Aviation Book

As the aviation industry faces a projected shortage of aviation professionals internationally, it is increasingly important to guide and support the next generation on their path towards competence. Part of this support will require skilled teachers and researchers to contribute to aviation education through the publication of their knowledge and expertise within books. A challenge is that, through their educational journey, most aviation academics are taught the process of writing and publishing their research within academic journals. Very little direct guidance on the process, types, and publication venues of books is available. The purpose of this presentation is to outline the different pathways to book publication for aviation academics and educators: vanity publishers, academic monographs (solely authored or edited volumes), and textbooks. Each will be discussed, along with pitfalls to be avoided along the path to publication. In addition, as a significant body of research exists which outlines the features of books that best support student learning and engagement, a discussion of how to develop the structure, flow, and instructional design elements of a high-quality book will be included