Rules of Thumb 2

When he published his favorite rules of thumb in 1983, Parker asked readers to send theirs in. They are published heremany are literarily oriented, covering such topics as typos (""Cheap paperback novels average one typographical error for every ten pages'') and writing (``Professional writers average about twenty words per sentence''). Other subjects include ties (``A 3-inch-wide tie will never go out of style''), poverty (``You are close to poverty when paper towels are a luxury item'') and organization (``A cooperative effort loses effectiveness when it includes more than fifteen people''). Many of the entries are from Scott Parker (no relation to the author) of Beaumont, Tex., whose dozens of entries include, ``The average American has a vocabulary of three thousand words.'' Parker has created a well-drawn and effective book, and offbeat photos illustrate 56 of the rules.(November)