Have you ever lost a piece of work due to a computer issue or human error?
Just imagine writing a whole page, chapter or heaven-forbid, an entire book and then, a computer malfunction strikes, deleting all your hard work.
Complete and total disaster, right?
Right. Unless you have backups.
Backups will save your work from human error, laptop/computer-theft, computer failure and damage caused by things like accidental spills or fire.
You can have all the insurance in the world, but only backups can keep your precious files safe and secure.
So, what is a backup?
In simple terms, a backup is an extra copy of your files that will be stored in a different location than the original file. Backups allow you to revert to an earlier version of a file and to restore any accidentally deleted files.
You can make a simple backup using free online cloud storage solutions such as Dropbox or Google Drive. However, to truly protect your work from digital theft as well as physical damage, we’d strongly recommend using a backup service that also encrypts your files.
Just remember that a backup is completely worthless if you can’t retrieve your files, so it’s important to check your files regularly and ensure that you restore them.
Now, what about archiving?
An archive is a long-term data storage solution that creates a copy of data to be stored for permanent record or reference. When you archive a file, it’s usually because that file no longer needs to be changed, making it a great solution for storing completed works. Archiving is also a great way of freeing up space on your own devices.
So, how do you decide which you need?
If you’re an author or book publisher, chances are you’ll need both regular backups and archiving. You’ll need to make sure that all copies of books that are currently in-progress are backed-up regularly to save each latest edition so that you can restore any previous changes or accidental deletions.
It’s also useful to ensure that your master-copies of any published and no-longer changing works are securely stored and accessible for future reference.
There you have it, backing up and archiving your data will ensure that you have a permanent record of all files, with no chance of losing your data due to human error or computer malfunctions.
Here at Tech-Set, we can provide full back-up and comprehensive archiving service. To discuss this any this or any of our other services you can contact us on (0191) 482 5042 or alternatively you can email us on production@tech-set.com.
