So here’s why I asked about the “gray/grey” thing. Both are acceptable spellings, and there’s no clear consensus on which is best, but in recent years I’ve come to view “grey” as something of an affectation when used by writers inside the United States. That’s why I also asked about the “color/colour” thing: to guage where you rest on the geographic divide. If you naturally spell “color” (and words like it) with a -u, then “grey” seems like the way to go. But if you don’t, and if doing so seems strange or, worse, pretentious…then why wouldn’t “grey” seem so, too? “Gray color” or “grey colour,” but not some weird mishmash of the two. Right?
I suspect — not on the basis of any real evidence, but just a gut feeling — that fantasy and science fiction stories feature the word more often than in other genres. I’ve certainly seen it more than a little in the submissions to Kaleidotrope — and it’s more an interest in imposing consistency there, rather than in any kind of spelling minutae, that’s led me to wonder about any of this. I don’t necessarily care how people spell it; I just want one preferred spelling throughout the zine.
So I’ve decided to go with “gray,” which, by and large, hasn’t upset anyone — even my non-US contributors — but it’s a decision I’m still mulling over. (As Eric points out, we literary types are nothing if not wishy-washy.) Is “grey” pretentious if you’re not using other British spellings? I have no problem changing “color” to “colour,” or “realise” to “realize,” but I haven’t made my mind up over “gray/grey” just yet.