Your Questions: Spelling!

I received a bit of a strange question last week from a UK writer that was struggling to get and keep jobs from US clients. It isn't one that I thought anyone would ask but that is why I'm responding to it today.

What is the difference between US and UK spelling and do I need to know it?

If you are a freelance writer then you need to be versatile and adaptable. You need to be able to fulfil all of an individual buyer's requirements. If you cannot do that then you will not be able to build up ongoing relationships with select clients that could possibly ensure your business stays afloat for years to come. This is why you should take the time to learn the difference between US and UK spellings.

I was lucky in that I went to college in the US for a year and had to learn the different spellings pretty quickly. I now have a good grasp of both US nd UK spellings, slang and sentence structures. I have clients from both sides of the Atlantic that know I can fulfil any requirements they ask for because I know how to write like a Brit and like an American. There is a number of SEO companies in the UK that are big freelance employers and millions of clients in the US so you really can't afford not to know the difference between the languages. There are definitely fundamental differences.

If you have to be able to spell in the US or UK way quickly but don't know how to then you can use the language settings on Word. That's a good cheat tip! However, you might want to study a few articles on websites like the BBC for UK stye and USA Today for US style. There are writing guides available on the Internet as well.

In the next couple of days I'll be posting a quick guide to US/UK spelling and writing here for your reference so stay tuned!