Translation?
From American English (the Author)
To UK English
then back?
I know it's a process.. but really the manuscript was done at the same time. Why should it be 4 months earlier in the UK
It's called localization (or, since we're talking UK English, localisation
). You'd likely be surprised at how long it takes to Britify an American-English text; it's not just spelling, it's phrasing (SO many idiomatic shifts between the two, even non-slang) and sometimes even basic, everyday references. Example: in one Robert Heinlein book, if I recall correctly, the characters refer to Dramamine (an anti-motion sickness over-the-counter medicine). The UK version, however, changed that to Bonine.
And all that takes place AFTER the final round of approved edits to the original text. Add to that repagination (books are often in a slightly different physical format between Europe and North America) and nailing down a different cover. It's pretty much doomed to take quite a while.
One thing that still confuses me is that Feist is American and is based in the US. *blinks* How, then, does the Commonwealth get first crack at his book? Or is he published by a UK house? I think that's where the answer really lies. Try ordering from Amazon Canada; they often get stuff in line with the Commonwealth.
