It can't be said enough . . . save your work in more than one format and in more than one place. After working months or years on your hopefully soon to be best-seller, you don't want to lose it all when your computer gets a virus, someone in your family deletes the files from your flash drive, or your house is destroyed in some way. I would've lost the manuscripts to my first two novels on more than one occasion because of computer malfunctions if I had not saved the work to CDs and flash drives. Twice, I was zapped by nasty computer viruses. Once, I had a flash drive go bad and I couldn't retrieve the files from that drive.
     I have both of my completed manuscripts stored on my computer hard drive, on a flash drive, and as printed copies in a three ring binder. It might seem I have all of the bases covered, but I don't. All of my copies are in my house. I still need to make a copy, either on CD or a flash drive, and give it to a trusted friend or family member for safe keeping.
     But what if you don't have access to a computer to make CDs? The low tech alternative to the computer is to make one or more copies of your typewritten manuscript. What if you don't trust anyone enough to give them a copy of your manuscript? Rent a safe deposit box at a bank and store your CDs, flash drives, or hard copies there. The important thing is to have more than one copy in the event the original gets lost or destroyed.