We recently connected with Corinne Joy Brown and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Corinne Joy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

After years of attending Western events like rodeos and Western music festivals, plus writing about Western culture, I noticed that most of the people who buy tickets to the concerts, love line dancing, and who watch the popular Western TV serials by Taylor Sheridan, weren’t actually people who lived the life. They just loved the heritage, the romance and the culture. And of course, the clothes! That’s what prompted me to write my latest book “How to Be An Urban Cowgirl and Find Your Inner West.” Pre-reviews have confirmed my concept; that we (the urbanites) are the ones that drive the business, fill the grandstands and cheer the cowboys on. In my mind, the time had come.. Kudos to all the urban cowgirls who only wished they were.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a writer, the West has been my wheelhouse for over 30 years. I grew up in Denver in the Fifties riding horses and thinking one day I’d marry a cowboy, Two horses and many decades later, I’m a lot older and and still love the lifestyle, but settled down with a businessman instead. I became his partner in a longtime home furnishing and design business. That said, writing was my calling. Over time, I opted for it full time.
In my professional career of journalism, I’ve served on staff at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum publication, “Persimmon Hill”, on staff at “True West Magazine”. and have been a frequent contributor to “Cowboys & Indians”, a magazine that covers Western film, lifestyles and the arts. For almost two decades, I was a staff writer for Western & English Today, a trade publication sent to Western retailers everywhere. I also wrote for “Working Ranch”, “Colorado Expression” and “Colorado Life. ” Currently I write for “Western Art & Architecture.”
Over time, I learned a lot about Western history and culture and who defines it. Out of my ten books in print, I’ve also written three novels set in the American West, two historical and one contemporary. My last novel won six literary awards including the New Mexico/Arizona award for historical fiction. I feel I have the experience and the voice to write my current book, a humorous guide to a culture I love and that’s been so good to me. “Urban Cowgirl” is an homage to cowgirls and a nod to all the women who never rode a horse or lived on a ranch and probably never will. Being a cowgirl is an attitude, not a career. From this moment forward, I’m happy to wear the “cowgirl” brand even though I’m not the real deal.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Prior to my current publishing arrangement, I put together a sum of money earned from writing memoirs for people who needed a ghost writer. I’ve done four of these so far and they have been valuable and lucrative experiences. (One seems to lead to another.) That said, I’ve published books many different ways; with an agent, directly with a publisher, with a vanity press, with a hybrid, and all on my own. This time around, I got tired of waiting for an agent who had the property for over a year, and decided to go with a hybrid-publisher instead. This is a relationship in which the publisher becomes your partner and splits the costs and the profit 50/50. He or she has to love the work, and want to sell it on their bookstore/ website. The author carries most of the marketing. which agreed with me. This arrangement makes the initial layout so much more affordable and and allows the author to reap the benefits of being with a reputable publisher who has access to big chains and larger markets and who can handle the “back door” technicalities. There’s always more than one way to publish a book and, personally, I think this is the future. It’s like “bespoke” tailoring. You create the package you need and want and pay the publisher a starting fee to get underway.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

By freelancing across several platforms including fine art, design, Western culture, fashion, and all things Colorado, my name and byline are recognizable to many. I maintain a FB page that has grown steadily. I don’t post often, but when I do, people notice. I find this strategy to be advantageous. Further, I published a newsletter every quarter for about three years with the help of a publicist I created the content and she helped make them look terrific. We included links to my published work and news about my awards and recognition. I committed to adding ten new names each time, a constant challenge. When I stopped sending it out, I was up to about 600 people. But it was time consuming and not really helping me sell books. I do maintain a professional looking web site and have a great web master who updates things promptly. He’s a really important part of my team. I also belong to several professional writing groups and related associations. (Western Writers of America, Women Writing the West, the Denver Woman’s Press Club, etc. ) These professional relationships are very important. I also give a lot of talks on various subjects that have been well-received. It takes time to build a good reputation, but showing up and being available is what really counts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://corinnejoybrown.com/
• Instagram: Corinne Joy Brown
• Facebook: Corinne Joy Brown
• Linkedin: Corinne Joy Brown

Image Credits

Me in a cowboy hat Nested Photography Meghan Shalapin

Urban Cowgirl cartoon Alece Birnbach