5 Ways to Save Your Writing Clips From Oblivion

With the rise of online publications, it's much more convenient to email an editor or client a few links to your writing samples instead of snail mailing hard copies. A few weeks back, I created a video tutorial showing how I organize my writing clips in Google Bookmarks. But the danger with simply saving links is that they may not be around forever. Sometimes articles get archived or the website goes through a redesign or the client takes it down and *poof!* your work disappears.That’s why it’s a good idea to have backup copies of the articles you’re most proud of, just in case. Here are five ways to save your writing clips.

Print them out. Perhaps not the most eco-friendly option, but if your computer crashes, you'll still have copies of your favorite clips (my recent computer debacle underscores the importance of backing things up). Just make sure you keep them in a save place so you can easily find them later. I have way too much paperwork in my life as it is, so this isn’t really the best option for me.
Take a screenshot. Assuming your article fits on the screen without scrolling, this is probably your easiest option and it preserves the layout of your clip (though the text won't be selectable or searchable). Not sure how to do this? Check out screenshot instructions for PC users or Mac users.
Use an online service. For longer pieces, online tools like PDFMyUrl.com help you preserve the layout of your piece while keeping the text selectable and searchable (helpful if you're trying to find the piece on your computer) and links clinkable. Paste the URL to your article into the box, then it will create a multi-page PDF of that article for you.
Go back in time.If your article has already been taken down, you might still be able to find it by using Google's cached pages or the Way Back Machine, which can pull up some webpages that are no longer available online.
Save the Word document.If all else fails and your article is lost to graveyard in the cloud, hopefully you still have the original document saved somewhere on your computer. It may not be as nicely designed as the finished version, but hey, it's something. I keep all my articles saved in folders on my computer. Then when I retire a publication, I move that folder into the "old articles" folder. The other reason to save the original document is that you can refer back to it to see how the article evolved during editing (hopefully for the better) and over time, see how your writing style has evolved.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention copyright issues. Just because you wrote something doesn’t mean you own the rights. That depends on what’s in your contract. I think it’s always a good idea to save copies of your articles for your own portfolio, but before you post them on your website, it’s a good idea to check your contract or ask your editor to make sure you have permission and avoid any copyright issues. What about you? Do you have a system for saving your clips? Do tell!

Image courtesy of digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net