Writers Need a Back-up Plan

Earlier this year, a colleague asked if I could send her another copy of a story I had written; she had lost hers in a computer crash.

When I sent it, I wrote, “Ouch; that sounds like a nightmare (times three).”

Her experience reminded me of similar fear-inducing scenarios I lived through after my freelance career had finally gathered some steam. The fact that I allowed myself to get in such a mess is embarrassing, but hopefully others can learn from my faux pas.

Now, manufacturers must be making hard drives better now; mine don’t melt down like they did in the mid-1990s and early 2000s. Yet disasters still occur. They come in the form of fritzed-out internet service, power failures, malfunctioning laptops, or spilled milk on keyboards.

Lacking a Plan

Thirty years ago, I had no back-up system in place. Sure, I could have copied files to a CD-ROM, but I never found the time. Nor had I ever developed a knack for writing CDs.

Twice, when I had hard drive or other issues that required computer repairs, I kept going by doing research, conducting phone interviews, and catching up on reading material.

I did all this while my heart went pitter-pat as the day slid by and I called the computer shop to see when my desktop would be ready. (One time when I took it in, I begged on bended knee that they finish in one day.)

Backing up files is much easier now, thanks to thumb drives; removable hard drives; and Dropbox, One Drive, or other cloud-based alternatives. Yet, as my colleague’s experience proves, backing up files doesn’t always get done.

This is why if you plan on making a living with words—writing, editing, producing newsletters, or some form of book or e-book publishing—having a back-up system in place is essential.

Two Alternatives

A couple years ago, interruptions in my internet connection made me wonder if my modem were deteriorating. I decided to bite the bullet for a new one, but made the mistake of not asking a more experienced friend for help.

When I hooked the new modem to the cable system, I failed to make a good connection. The technician who resolved the problem also checked the wiring outside our house. That’s when he discovered a squirrel had nearly chewed a cable wire in two. Thus, the internet problems.

This all meant operating without functioning internet service for a couple days, leaving me unable to back-up files to my cloud library. Since this was over the weekend, it wasn’t a major disaster. Still, I knew I needed a back-up of what I had worked on, so I copied those files to a thumb drive.

New Habit

This wound up creating a new habit. Ever since, I have copied files I’ve worked on that day to my cloud service and the thumb drive. At the end of the week, I copy the entire contents of my hard drive to the cloud and the thumb drive.

You might consider this overkill. I say when it comes to being sure I can stay in business, the practice of double back-ups stems from well-earned paranoia. You don’t know the meaning of stress until you need to write or edit and have no way to do so (I don’t count pen and paper as alternatives).

When your life involves working with words, you can’t afford interruptions. Would-be writers, beware of getting knocked off-line, whether that is because of poor internet service or a sick computer.