Ever wondered why a Regency novel set in England uses American spelling?

Here’s the secret:

Publishing houses follow international style guides, and those default to American spelling. 

This means no matter the author's home origin or preferred spelling, such as the preferred spelling of British, Canadian, Australian, etc. authors, or even the location in which the story takes place, such as a story set in England, the book will use American spelling.

As a reader, if you've ever been confused why a British author, or even an American author writing about Britain, has "misspelled" (misspelt!) words, rest assured that they are only following industry standards.

As an indie author, if you've ever been confused as to what spelling to use (or perhaps in some cases relieved that you may keep your home spelling if you wish since there is no publishing house to change your words!), here are the rules of thumb:

• If publishing nationally with no expectation of a global audience, use your home country's spelling.

• If publishing internationally with a global audience, use the international publishing standard, which is American spelling.

For example:

• Colour vs color

• Traveller vs traveler

• Realise vs realize

• Smelt vs smelled

Vocabulary, however, does not follow an industry standard, and should, instead, be in keeping with the story's setting and character's perspective, regardless if some audiences (ie Americans) would recognize the words or not.

With vocabulary, historical and cultural accuracy in word choice is preferred, even if the spelling follows the American norms.

Vocabulary examples that are distinctly British but may have some Americans scratching their heads:

• whinge

• larder

• boot

• snug

• chemist

• jumper

• wardrobe

• row

Any spelling differences and vocab words you want to add to these lists for fun?

And for that matter, regardless of publication standards, do you prefer reading in American or British spelling, or does the story sweep you away either way?