I’m deep into researching for this new series, and I’m digging very, very deep. I’m looking for anyone who:
- is, or has worked in pest control, specifically with rats
- anyone who works/has worked in a lab with rats
If that’s you, reach out at https://authorlevelup.comcontact. I’d love to ask you some questions, maybe take 15-20 minutes of your time via phone or video.
I won’t say anymore than that. LOL
LOT OF RESEARCH TODAY
Finished another book today about a subject related to the new novel. I’ve tore through about 3-4 books already. I have lots and lots of notes.
I’m also trying to dig through scientific journals but that’s a bit of a challenge mainly because of access issues.
I’m making a lot of progress but I’ve got a ways to go until the foundational research is ready. I’ve got an interior timer that will ding when that time comes.
So far I’ve mostly researched subject matter, but I’ve still got some research to do around a few other things, such as the setting. I haven’t even started looking for comparable novels yet, though I’m fairly certain there are at least a couple dozen based on some Reddits I’ve dug through.
In other news, a special project has come up that I will be working on over the next couple weeks. Can’t say what it is but it will be pretty cool if it comes to fruition!
(And no, it’s not the TED Talk. Still waiting to hear from them. The deadline to let speakers know if they’ve been accepted/declined is 12/20, so it literally could be any day now.)
LESSON LEARNED & EXECUTED
Another profitable ad day. Can’t complain. Made about 3X more than I spent. If this continues December may be my best month ever, and it’ll be purely because of ads because I haven’t had any appearances or special events.
Amnesia Mode is coming to a close, folks. This’ll be the last week. 🙁
STARTED SOMETHING ELSE TODAY
I also started on my “Bookkeeping Automation” project. Using Gmail Filters and Zapier, I was able to create a test “zap” that:
- Identified an email receipt
- Forwarded it to Zapier’s Email Parser
- The email parser then breaks the email into different text fields: amount, date, transaction ID, payee, and notes.
- I created a Google sheet with columns with the exact same fields.
- Zapier’s Email Parser then passes the field text directly to Google Sheets.
I tested it out with a few receipts and it worked like magic. Literally, within seconds of receiving the receipt email, the spreadsheet is updated with exactly what I want it to say.
The goal for this spreadsheet is to be accountant-ready at all times. I don’t want to spend any time doing data entry on expenses in 2021, except for one-offs here and there.
Once I build this out for the rest of my receipts, I can automate around 80% of my receipts, which will save me around an hour or so each month, maybe a little more.
Huge success.
Anyway, have a good night.
