Formula for Counting Words in Books

1. You will need a calculator unless you’re a super genius at mental arithmetic. J

2. Open the book near the middle.

3. Count the number of words in three lines.

4. Average the number of words (add the three totals together and divide by 3.).

5. Count the number of lines on the page.

6. Multiply the average number of words in a line by the number of lines on a page to get an estimate of how many words are on a page.

7. By looking at the final page number, see how many pages the book has.

8. If the book is illustrated, reduce the number of pages by 10.

9. Multiply the number of words on a page by the number of pages in the book, and voila!

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