Could there be anything worse than losing your interview notes or tape? Well, yes, probably but if we're just talking our little freelance world, probably not.

I asked around and fortunately this hasn't happened to most people but it doesn't mean that it can't happen to you. So listen up for some quick advice. If this ever happens, the very first thing you do is sit down and piece together as much of the interview as you possibly can. Then, email your source, but instead of telling them that you lost their interview, say you're just clarifying a few points. They should be happy that you're striving for such crystal clear accuracy in your article.

To prevent any disasters, as much as possible, take down the content of your interview as soon as you can so that it's still fresh in your memory. If it turns out your tape is lost or damaged, you'll find out sooner while you can remember more of it. It also doesn't hurt to have a good recorder and not to be shy about putting it close to your subject. You wrote the questions, you know what the questions consist of. If you can only hear the answers but not your own questions, you'll still know what's going on.

If anybody else has any disaster stories and how to avoid them, please chime in.