Dad-burned 25% off stickers blockin' everything!

There's been some angst about covers, cover art, and foiled ink (that you can't necessarily read if the constrast is too low). I was at Target last night, and could not read a full title/author name on ANY of the books because of these big "Summer Deal 25% off" stickers. Now that's a publishing nightmare.

Some unconcerned stock person slaps them on and POOF! a quarter of the artwork is gone, if you're lucky. Artwork that has taken a lot of effort to create and choose. There should be a blank "place crappy sticker here" with a dotted outline. I'm just kidding. I know enough about retail to know that the stickers wouldn't make it there.

When I'm published, I'm going to make sure my title/name are on the top AND the bottom. Otherwise I'll develop too many brands. Ly Bryson, Kelly Br, Ke son. An especially large sticker might leave me with Ke or ryson. Maybe I need a snappy pen name. Something really short. 'Me'? 'KKB'? "KB" (Is that too toy-store-evoking?)

And I always read the back cover summary. When it read "Angela is a small town girl with big ideas. When her friends are busy cow-tipping and Target 100045620385476 100010110111010101011101010101010101010101010000101010 (simulated bar code)

visit target.com for more great deals and the red-horned bull that is Angela's only hope.

That drives me nuts. As does the glue residue you get when you peel it off. "Goo Gone" is a miracle worker, I tell you.