Tip: Save Every Paragraph, Print Every Page
This may seem like overkill, but I was sorely reminded today of the volatility of computers when my froze up with three of my dissertation documents on the screen and unsaved.
I don’t hold to quite this extreme, but I have taken to saving everything on a jump drive before closing my computer for the day. I also attach drafts to unsent emails in my gmail account, so my docs are saved three places.
As far as printing, I print off a draft every time I share with my writing group or another editor, so at least every month. This has saved me several times. You can recycle all that paper later, but it’s a necessary back-up.
So choose your own level of better-safe-than-sorry, but don’t rely on your computer’s hard drive to be your only saving grace!
