Hellooo, it’s me, Becca Coates, aka KHG’s trusty My Sweet Dumb Brain editor — a job I’ve held since Katie began this newsletter just over six years ago.
It’s wild to think that Katie and I have been business partners now for nearly a third of our two-decade-long friendship! If you had asked me when we first started this journey whether I thought we’d still be publishing weekly content all these years later, I honestly would have said no. Of course, I wanted to support Katie when she asked me to come on board as her editor, but, at the time, I questioned how much people would care about a personal essay format. And I certainly didn’t think we could monetize it!
I say all this not because I ever doubted Katie or her ability to produce thoughtful, evocative content, but because I knew how elusive and fickle audience engagement can be. I also understood that, particularly when the content is so deeply personal as it is for Katie, putting yourself out there week after week and then comparing your heart’s work to audience engagement metrics could potentially be discouraging, even painful. I’ve witnessed Katie experience those discouragements, and I admire her for continuing nonetheless.
Now, here we are, and I couldn’t be happier to have been wrong about where My Sweet Dumb Brain would end up. As her editor, I’m writing to a subscriber base of nearly 15,000 people. There are actual towns that size! And some of those people even pay for our work! What!?
We started this journey with an audience of only 100, non-paying subscribers, who were almost entirely personal connections. Neither of us could have fathomed the reach we have today.
As much as I would like to say I have contributed to the newsletter’s success over the years, it’s really all Katie’s doing — even though she insists that I’ve helped (I know this because she pays me 15% of her income from this newsletter for my editing/cheerleading work). Katie’s dedication to consistency and quality, in writing and content, publishing cadence, reader interaction, and community building, is truly the special sauce that has made My Sweet Dumb Brain one of Substack’s top newsletters.
Even when childcare falls through, other work obligations are piled high, or illness strikes, Katie shows up for My Sweet Dumb Brain. Y’all, she’s truly the hardest-working person I know, not to mention one of the kindest, most talented, and brilliant, to boot. It’s a pleasure to work with Katie because she’s my friend; it’s an honor to work with her because of her persistent pursuit of excellence in everything she does.
So, on behalf of my dear friend and business partner, I’m asking you all to show up for Katie the way she has shown up for you. Whether you’re a new subscriber or have followed My Sweet Dumb Brain from the beginning, you’re reading this right now because Katie’s words have meant something in your life. You’ve commented, forwarded to friends, emailed in with notes of gratitude. But today, your support can help keep this content free and accessible for everyone — a gift with the potential to reach literally thousands of people!
No matter what you choose, we’re grateful that you’re here. Thank you for being part of something bigger than dollars, audience metrics, or best-seller status: you’re part of our special reader community that makes this work so meaningful for me and Katie. It means the world to us, and we look forward to continuing to weather life’s ups and downs alongside you.
Becca xo