[gmw]

I am not sure if "localisation" is the term used in the publishing industry, but in software we use localisation to talk about adapting a program to different regions. From simple things like dealing with American vs European date formats, to complex issues like translation of all text to another language and even adapting to entirely new calendars.

In the past I've seen a lot about books being adapted to the American market. An obvious example was "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" becoming "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" - and quite a few minor text changes. I've also read of comments to the effect that in America a book cover must have a person on the front. (I can't remember ever reading that an American book was adapted to the UK or Australian market - does that happen?)

Anyway, the point is, is this something the writers here ever consider?

My current work is being written using an Australian dictionary on the spell-checker, and uses mostly UK spelling with a few local idioms. Am I likely to have to localise this to US spelling to find acceptance in an American market?

And similarly when considering covers for these books. Currently I have some fairly basic ideas - but there are no people on these images. Is that a mistake?

With ebooks the issue of localisation appears to be changing. Is it disappearing? What should writers be doing to adapt with this change?