Scandango -- how to make the numbers dance

Okay -- for those of you who feel math might lead to head pain, here's an effortless formula for making sense out of the weekly Book Scan sales information.

Step 1: On the first line of a sheet of paper, write down the weekly sales total for each book.

Step 2: Using data from a service such as NovelRank or MetricJunkie, get your Amazon sales totals for the same week, and write this on line 2 of your paper.

Step 3: (This is the only place where you need simple math.) Since the Book Scan figures include the Amazon sales, you need to subtract line 2 from line 1. (If the math is a problem, find a calculator, or a ten-year-old.) Write this figure on line 3.

Step 4: Continue to accumulate data every week for six months, keeping each entry on a separate piece of paper.

Step 5: Go to the mail box. Take out your royalty statement. Read the figures on the bottom lines.

Step 6: Gather the pieces of paper and make 26 paper cranes.

Step 7: Repeat.