@theducks, I'm not sure if that's a statement or a question. As mentioned before, #words is the lookup name of the referenced column. I'm aware of that. It is accurate.
@PeterT, THANK YOU!!!!
That did it. Now I can play with that as needed and change the math or make more columns based on reader familiarity like kids' books vs. adults.
FWIW,
Getting some kids to read digitally is actually tough as they want to compare it to books they feel "confident" about finishing because of the typical printed format. It helps them relate also.
Kids---novel style typically 250 to 300 words per page or less (just review some of your kids' books)
Adult - novel style 325-400 words per page (ex: Dean Koontz paperback)
These are based on actual word counts in multiple books running 4"x7", 5"x8", and 6"x9" with various target audiences and margins and page breaks and line spacing....
I looked over about 10 paperback books with which I'm very familiar and compared typesets and such and word counts to pages since I also have digital copies. The math I'm using works out very well and gives me a good feel for the book
"thickness" compared to 4x7 paperbacks with compressed, tightly fitted words and small margins and such which is my preference and
seen in most novel paperbacks. 370 turned out to be a good number!. I even tried it on a digital copy of Anne of Avonlea compared to printed and it worked well.
This was a BIG help!
I'm including a picture of the custom column screen for anyone else who wants to set theirs up including some self-publishers who need to determine this kind of information. This picture is based on 370words/pg as above.
I used exactly this in the template field:
program: format_number(divide(field('#words'),370),"{0:5.0f }")