I read a headline the other day suggesting we need to back up our work by having a hard copy available. I scoffed, probably because I was in the midst of some spring cleaning, getting ready to chuck a box full of printed manuscripts.
Who needs these anymore?
However, the article asks, "What happens if there's an electromagnetic pulse that wipes out all of our digital forms of backup?"
Well, first there would be a scream heard round the world from every writer in existence. And mine would probably be the loudest, since I like to think I've got all the possible worry angles covered, and this one never occurred to me. In fact, it rattled me so much I forgot to bookmark the article to include here.
So am I doing enough to backup my manuscripts, or am I just giving my internal worry monster more food to fuel its addiction?
I can't quite decide.
I confess I don't backup as often as I should. It's kinda like exercise. I know it's good for me, but it's easy to let it slide further down the To Do list. I have Hotmail send me a weekly reminder to backup my computer, and I usually look at it, mutter, "Oh yeah, better do that", and of course I get another nudge before I've actually backed things up for the previous week.
I take turns where I back up my manuscripts: one week it's on an external hard drive, and the next time it's on a DVD. I felt like this was an extremely clever solution, just in case the hard drive had gotten itself corrupted without me knowing it. But what if the DVD is bad too?
So, just to be on the safe side, I also email my WIP from one of my Hotmail accounts to another one. This gives me two backup copies, one in the send mail and one in the receive mail.
I used to use a thumb drive (aka "geek stick"), but I'm more worried about physically losing the little thing. I recently managed to misplace the can opener, something I don't even use all that often. It's a lot bigger than a geek stick and it's completely disappeared. I'd be a nervous wreck trying to imagine all the places a geek stick could hide itself.
I also haven't tried any of the online data storage options yet. They make me a little uncomfortable, as if somebody's digging through my purse, cackling at all the stuff I'm so protective of. What if they find something they like and decide to keep it? It's also hard to trust that something with "cloud" as its main descriptor is serious about the job of protecting my data.
For the most part I'm confident that I've got all the bases covered. But now I've got to worry about that dang electromagnetic pulse. How big a worry is it, really? I've only seen one in the Ocean's Eleven movie, and oh yeah, in an episode of Leverage. In both instances, con men are involved. Does that mean if I don't know any con artists I'm safe? I'd like to think so, but just in case. . .
I better stock up on ink cartridges and paper before I hit the Print button.
As you've pointed out, there certainly are a lot of digital ways to backup, but actually doing it, even with reminders, is always the hard part! For some reason, I'm called to action when the power actually goes out - - which happens quite regularly. Even though I've got battery back-up, there's that moment of panic that has me bargaining for "one more chance" to backup to my external hard drive -- as soon as I have power. Or, as happened once when my computer died, my CP saved me by being the only one with emailed copies of my manuscript. Then, my loss turned out to be a false alarm when my hard drive was able to be saved. Nothing, it seems, is ever really lost. We just have more anxiety trying to find it again. LOL Hard copies are still more comforting.
Posted by: Melissa | June 10, 2011 at 09:29 AM
Melissa, isn't it funny how it seems like "too much work" to do a backup? But as you said, if anything happens, we're praying and making promises that we'll do better next time. LOL I'm glad that Word has done an auto backup for me on the rare times it has gone belly-up.
Hard copies are comforting, but they take up so much space. Maybe they'll invent some kind of chip we can carry around in our fingernails some day. LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | June 10, 2011 at 09:55 AM
Hard copies are more comforting, but if an EMP hit, I would have MUCH bigger problems than losing my work. Think of the banking system! To date, I have at least one copy of my writing work and a printed copy of everything in my design portfolio. I guess, if I keep that up I'll be set.
Posted by: Kari Marie | June 10, 2011 at 07:59 PM
Kari Marie, you're right about it causing bigger problems than losing my manuscripts. LOL I think it was used in a TV episode to take out a car's computer, so clearly it can create all kinds of havoc. I've just got to quit worrying about stuff!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | June 10, 2011 at 09:26 PM
Okay, I have to confess. . .I'm a little neurotic about this. Now? Oh, boy, I'm heading for a hit of chocolate and a defibrillator. LOL.
I back-up constantly. On my flash drive. On my external hardrive. With emails (with passwords on the file. . .because, hey. Didn't I say I'm neurotic about this! :-D ). I also print out a copy (I use it in the revision process), but that's only when the book is completed.
Posted by: E.C. Smith | June 11, 2011 at 04:50 PM
E.C., I'm glad I'm not the only neurotic one. LOL So keep that defibrillator handy!
I hadn't thought about the passwords on the file too. Mmm. LOL Thanks for all the great ideas. You can never worry too much, right? :)
Posted by: Donna Cummings | June 11, 2011 at 05:33 PM
I do like to print out hard copies...
But mostly because I'm so old fashioned, I'm practically a cave woman.
I like to read/revise on paper, not the computer screen.
Still.
It does take a lot of ink. And my wine budget is kind of low these days.
Maybe I need to worry less and just back-up more...
Posted by: julie gardner | June 12, 2011 at 08:15 PM
I back up to my gmail account...I figure if there is a fire or a flood the last thing I'm going to do is search around for a memory stick. Having it in the cloud means I have access to it anywhere. Of course that isn't fool proof. I also back mine up on a thumb drive occasionally, but that's it. I don't print off a hard copy - it would burn in the fire with my computer:) - and I think if there is an EMP storm, as another commenter suggested, a lost manuscript would be the least of our problems:)
Posted by: Michelle Helliwell | June 12, 2011 at 08:43 PM
Julie, I was just at YOUR blog, reading about the waxing situation. Yes, I am still giggling. Your blog posts do that to me. And I'm still debating whether to comment about. . .well, it would be a good idea to increase the wine budget to include face-to-face chats. :)
I actually don't like to print out hard copies, but it has more to do with the crankiness of my printer. It's not that old -- well, maybe in "printer years" it's 70. Who knows? But it takes forever to get 10 pages done, as if it's engraving the words. An EMP could hit in that time!
Posted by: Donna Cummings | June 12, 2011 at 08:53 PM
Michelle, I was out of town for a few days recently and I nearly made myself insane thinking about all my backups being in a fire or flood with my laptop, and wondering should I bring a disk with me, etc. LOL And you're right about the hard copy being burnt up too!
I shouldn't let worrying get the best of me like this! LOL
Posted by: Donna Cummings | June 12, 2011 at 08:56 PM