My native English is a derivative of Commonwealth English (Australian), so is it wise to Americanise before submitting to an American publisher/agent?
I'm inclined to think that would be risking getting something that's neither here nor there. Sure, I can set my wordprocessor to US, and pick up all the spelling, but that won't do anything for word usage and other mismatches that I might be unaware of. I know that the 'trunk of a car' is really the 'boot of a car', but there would be a ton of others that I'm not aware of.
Posted by BenM (Member # 8329) on :
I agree that it's a concern. My expectation is that for novels, the language can be tweaked along with other things after the contract is signed. For short stories though, I'm not so sure: Will editors at Analog, for example, discard an Australian-English story, will they publish as-is, or will they accept and request alterations?
There's a bunch of SF authors in Australia, some of whom will have been through the US short story and novel market - maybe we should just write them and ask (some have blogs, maybe the answer's already there - I've not yet checked).
Posted by Dropbear (Member # 8819) on :
Good idea, I met Sean Williams once, but didn't think to ask him.
In the meantime it would be interesting to hear if anyone here has had experience with this.
Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :
You could always write it normally, then ask for crits on F&F specifically on the understandability of the language.
My take: spelling variations aren't particularly important - if an editor likes your work and wants it Americanized, they can always request you do so. Besides, a lot of people just read right over words like "colour" and know it means "color." Especially if the story doesn't take place in America, that spelling is part and parcel of the "setting" to my mind.
More important are variations in terminology and figures of speech, but only to the point of comprehensibility. For example, if you wrote about how Character X opened the boot of his car and pulled out a first aid kit, readers would probably understand enough of what was going on to not care about the unfamiliar term. But if Character X notes it's tipping it down outside and then you don't provide any alternative explanation of the term, there will be a lot of confused Americans trying to figure out what you mean.
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
I've used British English (spelling, and for the most part word usage except when dealing with specific cultural items) in every story I've written and subbed and it hasn't stopped me from selling to markets in the US (and Australia). It's really not worth worrying about. Frankly, trying to correct it and create some sort of confusing hybridis likely to be worse.
If an editor likes your story they'll either print it as is or ask for changes before publication, but it is very very unlikely to be a deal-breaker for any sensible editor.
Posted by Dropbear (Member # 8819) on :
Great, thanks for the replies.
Posted by skadder (Member # 6757) on :
I agree with Tchern. I always write in English as opposed to trying to write in American-English. I may have characters who are american, but guess what? They say colour, not color--go figure.
[This message has been edited by skadder (edited February 07, 2010).]
Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :
I agree that you should not worry about Americanizing it. Especially if you don't feel comfortable in American-English. If your editor feels strongly that it needs to happen I'm sure you'll have help.
Frankly I wish they didn't Americanize things so much, Harry Potter is so much better in the original British.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
I don't think I'd bother if I were you, unless it's specifically about Americans in America. It's part of the charm of reading these things.
I do have a long-standing beef with taking books written by Americans and translating the spelling (at least) into Briticisms. But that goes only in one direction...coming onto them from the other way 'round doesn't trouble me. (Also when it happens the other way, as per the aforementioned "Harry Potter." Things lose something when squeezed this way.)