Imagine the scene:

Zombies are on the loose…

The world is in chaos…

Power to your town and home is out…

Have you ever stopped to consider what would happen to your treasured writing when catastrophic circumstances such as these suddenly arrive?

A zombie invasion may be highly unlikely, but fires, floods and theft are just some of the genuine risks to your property (physical as well as intellectual).

Think about it. Your online and hard copy articles, presentations and e-books could, without warning, become inaccessible. Worse still – they could perish and be lost forever!

Outwit the Zombies with a Backup Plan

If you value the time and effort you have put into your writing, then you must plan now for worst-case scenarios.

As a topical example for you, I’m sure you’re aware of the many outbreaks of cyber-attacks that have occurred in recent years. These have ranged from individual computer owners having their data held hostage, to the hacking of global companies such as LinkedIn, Sony and Yahoo. These examples should make it abundantly clear to you that your online data is never 100% safe. In fact, it’s entirely possible that your writing content could be stolen and even deleted.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself: “The above doesn’t apply to me, as I save nothing in the Cloud – but save everything locally.”

Sadly, you could be lulling yourself into a false sense of security.

While USB sticks or external hard drives are unlikely to be hacked, they may become infected with viruses. They may also fail due to technical issues, rendering your cherished data unrecoverable. And then there are the physical threats such as flooding, fire and theft. In these cases, it’s unlikely that you’ll ever see your data again!

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to be a scaremonger. I just want you to be aware of the constant risks to your writing and personal data.

Fortunately, there are some simple strategies to help safeguard your content:

a)  Make sure your data is backed up in several different places (e.g. hard drive, online and on paper!).

b)  Add an extra layer of security to your backups by using encryption and multi-factor authentication.

c)  When writing with a computer, make sure your chosen word processor has auto-save switched on.

d)  Keep your phone, tablet and laptop charged-up at all times, so you can be ready to go mobile at the drop of a hat.

Zombies aren’t good at planning. So, be prepared. And stay one step ahead of them.

Whatever Happens – Ensure Your Writing Lives On

If you’re like most writers, then you just want to write. Technical stuff probably bores you, and when you do have to interact with technology, you want it to be as simple and easy as possible.

I’m sure there are also some present-day writers who don’t even own a computer. They like to write the old-fashioned way, using paper and pen.

However, regardless of how you choose to write, you MUST formulate a plan to protect your writing from unexpected threats. A little effort now, could potentially avert disaster in the future.

Zombies may signal the end of the world as we know it – but hopefully not the end of your writing work.

In the absolute worse case, preserve your writing so that the zombies will have something worthwhile to read!