Hi all, and welcome to the first #TheWriteWay blog post for February 2021!
On the career front, my agent and I are working on some exciting secret projects! I hope I have good news soon.
Anyway, without further ado, let's share something all writers need to know:
The importance of backing up your writing.
As a kid, I wrote on my computer a lot. I didn't have any virus protection or back-ups. No one told me anything about that stuff -- it was a different time back then. I remember losing some stories on my computer to a bad virus, and I was really upset.
I know firsthand how heartbreaking it is to lose everything.
Just the other day, my USB drive files became corrupted and unable to be opened somehow. Luckily, one thing saved me...
Backing up my work!
How do I do it?
On my computer, I have virus protection called BitDefender. It works great. I never go on unsafe websites or open links, either. Paying for virus protection is worth it!
I also have three USB drivers -- yes, three -- to back up my work on. If one fails, another one will save me!
I have a Google Drive account which I can upload files directly into it. It has tons of storage space!
The same goes for Dropbox, which I also use. It has tons of space and is safe, free, and easy to use, like Google Drive.
I also have Grammarly. Whenever you upload a document to it, Grammarly keeps it there forever. So far, I have 29 novels and tons of short stories in there, and it's kept it all.
Lastly, I email everything to myself -- every chapter, story, and idea. I have two emails for that.
Which one do I prefer?
Honestly, email is my favorite. It's free, easy, and quick. I've never had a problem (touch wood!)
I used to love USB drives, but as you can see, they can easily become corrupted and unreadable. So if that's your only back up, I suggest looking into others. I really recommend emailing yourself. Just don't forget your password!
The more back ups, the better. It means you're more likely to have a copy of your work somewhere! I would be devastated to lose everything I've done, and I don't want any other writer to go through that, either.
Tell me, #writingcommunity -- how do you back up your work?
If you have any other options you like that weren't mentioned here, please, tell me! I'm always on the hunt for a better place to store my books safely. It definitely gives me peace of mind to know it's safe and secure.
I almost envy the days when writers wrote on typewriters. Of course, the papers could get lost, destroyed, or burned, but at least there weren't any computer viruses. Oh, how times have changed!
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to back up that work!!!
Dana
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