Today’s word, is ‘Validation.’ It is an amazing feeling when we get feedback from our readers about how our book has helped them in their career. It’s even better when we hear that a spouse, parent, friend, or significant other has been able to connect with the reader more after they read our book because it helped shed some light on the career we so love. It helps validate the reason we wrote this book, and it helps drive us to evolve and expand our offering’s. But more on that later.
When we first submitted our book to be reviewed by Readers’ Favorite: Book Reviews and Award Contest, we didn’t know what we would be opening ourselves up for. It is one thing to have friends and people in the industry validate your hard work. It is another thing entirely, to step outside your comfort zone and ask someone external to the industry to give your hard work a rating based on what may or may not be an informed position.
We waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, last week, we received our rating… and my oh my, are we elated! Our book received 5’s (on a scale of 1-5) across the board! The reviewers assess our book based on six categories: Appearance, Plot, Development, Formatting, Marketability, and Overall Opinion. We scored the max rating in all the categories! Below is the excerpt from the reviewer (bear in mind, they are not an aviation professional, so some of the language doesn’t completely match):
Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite:
The Airline Transition Manual by Andrew Ross, Jolanda Witvliet, and
Richard Swindell is a non-fiction business guide for pilots who are
interested in switching courses within the aviation industry and
transitioning into the commercial sector. This comprehensive guide
is written by pilots for pilots and covers an incredible amount of
information. Broken down into twenty-two distinct and
interconnected chapters and with multiple appendixes, the book
covers an encyclopedic range of topics that include, but are by no
means limited to, understanding what it actually means to be an
airline pilot, the application and hiring process, training and
operations, sleep and accommodation, contracts and scheduling,
and work-life balance through commuting and weekly deployment,
among many others.
As the daughter of a retired pilot, niece to a United pilot, and sister
to a FlexJet pilot, it's safe to say that I'm familiar with how
massively rewarding and how equally disruptive a change of career
into airline piloting can be—not just to the pilot, but to their family
as well. It will break a marriage down if its not approached with
clear eyes and a realistic picture of what the job means to
everyone. The Airline Transition Manual is the book every individual
considering becoming an airline pilot should be reading. Andrew
Ross, Jolanda Witvliet and Richard Swindell have crafted a treasure
trove of everything a reader would expect to find and so much
more that they might not have even considered. It is easy to
understand, written clearly and efficiently, and perfectly organized.
I found the most interesting part to be chapter 11, which addresses
the ins and outs of working reserve, an on-call position over a block
of hours. I have memories of sitting on the sofa when my father
only had a couple hours left...would we go out for a nice family
dinner, or will it be off a TV tray while Mom sulked? Only the pager
knew. At least now I understand the 'why' behind it all. Very highly
recommended.
This review is exactly the type of reaction we were going for, and not just for spouses and family members, but even for the new pilot who is trying to make sense of this unique industry.
Of course, we must thank our editor Jim, art contributor Marc, our consultant friends at Cage Marshall Consulting, book reviewers, family members, and friends who helped shape this book. This is your review too!
Very gratefully yours,
Richard, Jolanda, & Andrew
