Give me just a second.  I need to get something off my chest.

AAAAAAAAA

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

for more details, please see AAAAAAAAA!

Okay, welcome back.  Well, you made it this far, I'm sure you'll continue on.  And continue you must, because otherwise, you're not going to see the glaring errors you didn't catch the first time.

Huh? you may ask.  News flash: you're human.  And if you've been at this 30 straight days like Ayne and I have, with all-nighters in many cases, yes, Virginia, there will be errors.  Text misspelligs.  Errors in toning.  Continuity errors.  And in my favorite case, putting the entire chapter upside down and not noticing for a week (don't laugh; I was told this by a comic artist a few months ago that he put his entire first chapter up that way and wasn't aware until someone emailed him.)

By this point, you're tired, weary, exhausted.  Those cans of Red Bull stacking up in the corner are beginning to resemble a skyline diorama.  You've missed out on a lot of leisure activities.  You.  Are.  Wiped.

Of course, you're going to make mistakes.  Of course, your mind is reptilian at this point.  You're not going to be able to think straight; worse, you might do something really stupid (like writing 30 days' worth of articles instead of doing actual work.)  You might even just say screw it, I can get away with the mistakes. 

No…no you can't.  Your audience will notice and they will care.  But they're not paying me (yet), you say.  That's also wrong.  They're paying you with their attention and time, and that's always the first step towards payment in paper or plastic.  Think of it this way: those mistakes are landmines, each intending to keep you down.

So it behooves you to correct them before launch.  And this is where that network from earlier, or someone you trust, comes in handy.  Yes, colour might be spelled with a "u" – but if you're American? LIkely a spelling error.  Why is your character wearing a turtleneck and jacket during a winter storm on panel one and then in a t-shirt on panel three?  You didn't notice that in one exhausted moment, you gave your family-friendly webcomic character Richard Hede a decidedly un-family-friendly nickname.  You're wrestling with WordPress to the point that you want to know if it's feasibly possible to commit homicide against a piece of software.  Your significant other wants to know why you're drawing nearly nude pictures of a girl, when your defense is that, well, it's a scene at a swimming pool.  

That's why it helps to step away for a few hours, or get a fresh pair of eyes to look at everything.  That assistance will ensure that no, you're not a bloody limey, so stop spelling it car tyre.  Your character switched clothing because you forgot to add the panels that showed him giving his jacket and shirt to a freezing orphan.  You'll note that "Dick Head" was not supposed to refer to Richard, but instead was supposed to be another character, Mick Read.  Your friend can handle the WordPress duties for you before you get so angry you punch the software all the way back to Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage.  Lastly, you'll be able to have a clear mind to point out that this is the scene just before the wacky accident where the hero accidently trips and inadvertently rips off all the girl's clothing, leaving her naked for you to draw (Disclaimer: Megami Studios LLC, Fan to Pro or their respective staffers are not legally responsible for what happens next when you tell her this.)

The point is, get that help.  Look everything over.  Make sure everything is perfect.  And then, relax.  Tomorrow's going to be that big day.

TOMORROW: Launch! – The Journey Ends, the Journey Begins