Do. This. NOW. (Preparing for the Future)

My husband and I were having lunch together, and I mentioned the fact that I took some of my royalties and put them in a Certificate of Deposit. Hubby knows I use a separate bank to keep my author self apart from our joint account. And his reply was, "If something happened to you, how would I know what all you have going on?"

It was an epiphany for me.

Since then, I've sat down and made a list to include the following:

* All my pseudonyms, my publishers, and the books I currently have with them.
* Which books I have self-published.
* Where my books are for sale, and the User Names and Passwords to get to them.
* How to access my website, my blog, Facebook page, RomanceWiki, Twitter account, and all the social media sites I could remember.
* And, most importantly, my checking and savings account at the other bank.

In addition, I noted:

* Books currently completed but not yet uploaded.
* Who to contact in the event something should happen to me (such as close author friends).
* !And don't forget to let him know the User Names and Passwords, especially to your computer!

Please. If you accomplish nothing else this summer, try to get this much in order. Yes, it will take a little time to get it all together, and it will need to be updated on occasion, but once it's done, run off a copy and put it where he'll know he can find it.

I understand that situations change. Lives change. A husband today may be an ex tomorrow, and people come and go. Regardless, find a way to inform your parents, a sibling, your children, someone. Save them the heartache and trouble by having everything already gathered and organized in the event something should happen to you.