Quote:
Originally Posted by Luke King
As an Australian author, I've been wondering whether I ought to use Australian (which is basically UK) spelling in my novels.
On the one hand, I'm thinking two-thirds of my audience are American. On the other hand, I would prefer to use the language as it was (before you all went and changed it).
Are Americans used to seeing UK spelling in books? Will it put them off reading? Will some think I've spelt the words incorrectly?
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Good question, Luke, and one I've agonised over. I came to the conclusion that I can write consistent UK English, and although I'm very familiar with US English, I don't think I can write it consistently.
The question came up when I realised that I use the English version of Open Office, and English means US English by default. I noticed that some of my words were being marked as incorrectly spelled by the program, and decided then and there to get the UK English add-on.
My solution was to put a note to this effect in the foreword of my first book, which I hope to push out soon, and hope that American readers can cope.