Toward or Towards? Farther or Further? Is there a rule to this?

There doesn't seem to be an actual rule about when to use toward or towards, except that in American English the former is preferred, whereas the latter is preferred by the Brits. My novel is YA fantasy so I figure it wouldn't be a bad thing for it to have a kind of British feel.

I am more concerned with what agents/publishers would prefer. I'm an American, so if presenting my manuscript to American publishers should I use the more American "toward"? Should I at least stick to one choice? Such as if I use toward, I should use only toward and never "towards". A friend of mine swears that "towards" is plural, such as "They came towards me."

Or can I just use whichever one sound better in the sentence, and the same for "farther" and '"further"?

Thank you.

Mumut said:

I was educated in English and always say toward.

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Hmm. But do you think it matters which I use?

Clair Dickson said:

I can answer the Farther/ Further issue.

Farther physical distance. "Bill lives farther away from me than Anne does."

Further is a additional time, quantity or degree. "Further information can be obtained."

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Thank you!