by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

All web writers should have at least two locations (if not more) where their work is saved. Your content can be repurposed. You might also need to reference it for a previous client in the future. Even if you never reuse your content, it’s always a good idea to have a back-up copy of everything. This can be used to prove you are the author, as writing samples for future work, and more. In my opinion, no writer should ever submit their content without having their own copy first. In fact, your content should be written and saved on your own device, then copied for the applicable submission process.

Use a Flash Drive

A flash drive is one of the most common ways to store written content. They’re small and can store a large number of files. Written content doesn’t take up as much space as pictures, video, and certain other file types. Flash drives are also easy to add files to, as it’s just drag and drop on most systems and the drive is easily recognized by plug and play technology via the USB port.

Upload Your Work to Your Smartphone

Depending on the type of phone you have and the amount of storage available, your phone can easily become a storage device. My current phone has 16GB of storage space. Even though I have a good number of apps installed that I use for business and personal reasons, this still leaves a large amount of storage space. Therefore, I often save my work to my phone as a back-up storage method. Some files aren’t compatible without downloading a new app. However, the phone will store non-compatible files as well that can easily be transferred to another device.

Use Cloud Storage

Cloud (online) storage is another popular way to save your web content. There are various cloud storage services, online file sharing sites, and online document storage and reading venues. Which one works best for each person will vary. Some of these are similar to a flash drive and may even be referred to as an online storage or flash drive. Some of them are drag and drop, while others require a single or multiple upload.

Save Your Content on Two Computers

If you have more than one system, saving your web writing on at least two can help prevent future data loss if something should happen to one of your machines. Have you ever lost content due to an error or other issue with your computer? Most of us can say yes to that question. Saving your work on multiple systems helps secure your work in such an event.

Use a Portable Hard Drive

This is getting be an outdated way to save files, since technology is advancing. However, if you don’t have any of the above options or just want an extra place to store all of your writing, this method still works well. The nice thing about a portable hard drive is that even though it is big, it is compatible with multiple systems. Most of them are plug and play via your system’s USB port.

*I originally published this elsewhere (no longer published there).

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

If you've ever forgotten your Windows 8 password, you'll know that the only way suggested to recover it is through a second administrator account or a password recovery disk. If your computer is connected to the internet, all you need to do is reset your Windows Live password via another device. But what if you aren’t connected to the internet when the password is lost, don’t have a recovery disk, and don’t have a second admin account on your Windows 8 device? Well generally, you might just be f*cked… until now.

Think I’m about to suggest reinstalling Windows 8 completely? Heck no! You’d lose all of your important files. Plus, I’m a nerdy geek and I like my stuff to stay how I want it. So you know I found another way to reset the password on my Windows 8 laptop when I needed to. What happened is my laptop was out of commission, due to a hardware issue. I had taken it in for repairs after it sat unused a few months (yeah I have more than one laptop so I was okay without it) and forgotten the password.

At first I went into panic mode when I got it back and couldn’t get in. But then I said to myself, “You’ve got this. You know you do” and of course I was right. So what did I do? Well, I thought about it myself for a second after the usual help suggestions were a no-go. Aren’t they always useless?

Here’s what I did to reset my Windows 8 password on a laptop without a password recovery disk or second admin account. I first went to my Microsoft Live account and reset that password from another computer. But without being connected to the internet, what good would that do? It wasn’t going to detect the changed password.

Ah, but see I am creative. Don’t forget that when I have my bad moments, okay? Smart people have smart phones, right? Well, sometimes. In my case, that happens to be true. My Smartphone is always connected to the internet either via its internal connection or the home Wi-Fi connection. This time it was connected to the home W-Fi. So how does that help me? There’s this little thing I pay extra for called USB tethering. You plug your phone into the computer via USB and enable tethering and voila, you’re online on the computer, too.

From there, it was cake. Once online, I could then log in using the new Windows Live password I had just reset. There were no lost files, no having to reinstall Windows 8, no calling expensive repair people. Yup. I got into my locked Windows 8 laptop after forgetting the password and all it took was some quick guesswork that is probably common sense to some, but may be helpful to those who may not have thought of using these steps.

Here’s hoping my nerdiness helps someone else who had the same issue I did – and for goodness sakes, make two admin accounts on your computer if you don’t have a Smartphone with tethering enabled. You’re welcome.

**Photo Credit/Copyright: Lyn Lomasi

I originally published this on BUBBLEWS (no longer published there)

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

Oh no! You were just submitting an article or blog post and poof! Now your hard work is gone! What happened? That's right, you didn't back up your work and you typed it up online instead of on your computer. Online submission templates are awesome, but they aren't fool proof.

Save your work offline first. Before ever placing your work in any online template, you should be typing it in an office program first. If you're like me and either hate Word or their price, try OpenOffice.org instead. Whatever program you use, write and save it there and then copy/paste t into the online submission template. I learned this years ago – the hard way, of course. I lost an incredibly awesome post (because all of my work is amazing, right?). Never again.

Websites crash. Computers crash. Servers time out. Submission processes malfunction. Just because you've submitted fine by typing into the template for years doesn't mean it's foolproof. When I had my revelation, I was submitting my daily piece to a site I had been using for a couple years already. I always typed into the template directly. That day when I hit the submit button, the site went down at that exact moment and my article that I spent two hours researching was completely lost.

Trust me. Save the work offline or at the very least in an online office program. I personally triple save my work. I work in OpenOffice and save the work on my computer from there. Then, I also upload a copy to an online file database, as well as save it to a flash drive. This way, if anything happens to any of those copies, there's likely to be another one saved somewhere. I actually lost an article just yesterday because I hadn't made it to the other steps yet and my computer malfunctioned and had to be restarted. Always save in more than one place.

How do you submit and save your work? Tell us in the comment section.

Photo Credit: Lyn Lomasi
(my original artwork)

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

Oh no! You're in the middle of an article and the site you're typing on crashes. Your hard work is now lost. Another site you had work published on is now nonexistent. But you didn't save a copy of your work on your computer. Back up your work to save yourself from scenarios like this.

Think these things rarely happen? Think again. This is one of the most common issues that new writers come to me with. Always write your work offline and always save it offline, preferably in more than one place. Even if you don't plan on publishing your work in other places you still need to have a backup copy for many reasons.

Why would online article writers need a website if many article submission sites allow a professional profile? This is a question I get asked often when I mention the idea. Learn some of the many reasons all freelance web writers need a website of their own.

Writer's Resume

When applying for online writing jobs and gigs, reference links and/or a resume are often required. This will be much simpler for those with a website. Some may create an area where a client can download their resume by requesting the link. Others may post links to samples. Yet others may do both or handle it another way. Online article writers need a website in order to reference their work all in one place.

Professionalism

Professionalism is key, even though you don't see your clients face-to-face when writing online. A freelance writer's website is like a virtual resume, meeting place, and office at the same time. This is where you can let your clientele know you are professional by including all of the right things. A bio, samples, and a contact page are just a few. Read "8 Musts on a Freelance Writer's Website" for more details on those and other must-include items for professionalism.

Info Source

Even if a client finds your work elsewhere, they may want to know more than they can find in a limited bio attached to your profile on a content site. This is where your website comes in handy. Many content sites allow article writers to place a link to their website in their profile or bio. Also, be sure to link to it from any blogs or other profiles you have. Giving clients (both potential and current) a place to find more information about you as a person and as a writer is very beneficial to them as well as to your writing career.

Announcements

If you have any big writing projects, off days, exciting news, etc it can be posted to your website. Of course you don't want to announce information that is too personal, but a web writer's website can serve as a great way to spread the word. Doing this has many benefits. Some include letting clients see that you are accomplishing things, engaging with your audience, and also depending on the announcement it might bring in more readers or clientele.

File Storage

Depending on how much bandwidth your site allows, this can be a great place to store certain files. Of course you still need a hard copy backup, but storing them in a secure, hidden location on your website can help you keep everything related to your online article writing all in one spot. This also can free up space on your computer if you'd rather not have the files there. Just be sure, as mentioned above to keep a hard copy if you go this route.