At some point, every writer loses an important file. If you’re lucky, it will be only one file. However, if your computer dies, gets hacked, or falls from a great height, you want to make sure you don’t lose your life’s work. The first time I had a computer die on me, the computer repair shop was able to rescue a majority of my creative writing documents. There would have been no way for me to re-write dozens of poems and story ideas.
For the creative works that were not rescued from my computer, I was able to retrieve most of them from literary magazine submission portals, which involved logging on to the platforms and right-click-saving any documents I had uploaded. I am sure there are some ideas of mine that are lost to time. After that experience, I made sure to work smarter through the use of a few simple but important document-saving methods.
Cloud-Based Templates
You can store templates of important files on a cloud-based drive such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Microsoft OneDrive. If you are a creative writer with a limited number of pieces that you are actively pitching to journals, you can keep those documents and a cover letter template stored in the cloud. In case of an emergency, you’ll be able to access those documents just by logging on to your drive from any device – whether that’s at your friend’s house, the library, or an internet cafe.
USB Sticks
When I started to write nonfiction as a freelancer, I realized I needed a safer way of saving all of my documents, from my submission tracking spreadsheet to pitch emails and scans of published clips. At this point, I developed a habit of backing up my most important files to a USB stick on a monthly basis. In case of emergency, the worst that would happen is that I would lose a month’s worth of work. You can get something inexpensive with minimal storage space, like the SanDisk 32GB Ultra, or a more expensive option with more storage, like the SanDisk 512GB Ultra.
External Hard Drives
Ultimately, when I was working as a full-time freelance writer and translator, I realized that I needed something much safer – particularly when working with documents that weren’t just my personal writing. Clients would not be very happy to hear about the loss of all documents less than a month old. I invested in a two-terabyte portable external hard drive by WD Elements, which was used as my working drive and as a backup. Because the device has so much storage space, I also used it to store digital photos and videos from family.
When I started to notice that my five-year-old laptop’s battery was not holding a charge as long as it used to, I made sure all important documents were moved over to my external hard drive. On the day the laptop ultimately refused to switch on, I knew that all my files were safely stored on my external hard drive – including my Quicken backup file. All I would need to do is re-install Quicken on a new laptop and open up the backup file to resume use.
Better Safe than Sorry
It doesn’t matter which method you choose – the important thing is to back up your work regularly. You may not feel the need to upgrade your computer more than once every five or six years, but there are more than just system age issues that can cause you to lose important work. By having a process in place and researching the best computer repair shop in your area, you’ll be prepared for any eventuality.
###
BIO: Bernadette Geyer is a writer, editor, and translator in Berlin, Germany. Her writings have appeared in AFAR Magazine, culture: the word on cheese, FundsforWriters, The Writer, and elsewhere. Geyer has copy edited or translated more than 20 books and teaches the “Online Clips for Freelance Writers” workshop through WOW! Women on Writing. You can find out more about her through her website at https://bernadettegeyer.com.
Leave a Reply