Yesterday, I wrote about the need to make some changes to get my life back on track after over a year of grief and survival that has derailed me from building the work I find most important — my writing and and commentary trying to make sense of a pretty crazy world and a life that has unfortunately also been swept along by that tide.
Today, I’m digging into the backend of the site, clearing out the cobwebs, trying to fix things that are broken, working on offering a better experience for all readers of The Skojec File, whether free or paid.
One of the first things I noticed is that all the welcome emails have errors.
They mention things that no longer exist, have duplicate sections, describe things that are out of date, and so on. I have no idea how many people have signed up and received the jumbled versions of these emails that do not track with what you see on the actual site. I don’t ever see these emails, so I don’t think to correct them.
So for the purposes of getting everyone on the same page, I’m going to post the email that goes to all new free subscribers below. These describe the current state of the site, what’s on offer, and why I hope you’ll consider an upgrade to paid.
On that note: you’ll notice that most of the content on TSF is free.
My goal as a writer is to reach as many people as possible. I don’t write about things that I don’t think matter, and I don’t like having to sequester those thoughts behind barriers. But I also have to be able to afford to take the many hours a week that goes into doing this work the right way, because alas, I am not independently wealthy and do not have other more reliable revenue streams. Writing has been my profession and my craft for the past two decades, and every paid subscriber to this website better enables me to do this work for a much larger audience.
In other words: your paid subscriptions constitute patronage of my entire body of work, not just the items that live behind the paywall.
As a reminder, this weekend I’m offering 25% off paid subscriptions to anyone who signs up for an annual plan. This offer ends tomorrow night at midnight (10/18/26), so if you’ve been thinking about upgrading, this is the time to lock that in.
Below please see the email all free subscribers should have been getting. It outlines the benefits of paid subscriptions as well. (Founding members receive the same benefits as paid, but it offers an opportunity for those who want to contribute more to the writing to do so.)
Thank you for subscribing to The Skojec File!
I’m Steve Skojec. I’m a storyteller, meaning-seeker, and cultural commentator trying to understand the rapidly changing world we live in, the secrets that lie hidden behind the news, and how it’s affecting all of us.
These questions are also explored in my longform podcast, Monitoring the Situation, with my co-host and close friend Kale Zelden. You’ll see posts here about each new episode as they are released — usually every Thursday.
On a personal level, I am also exploring the lived reality of individual transformation: the loss of institutional religious belief while still wrestling with questions of faith; the unwanted ending of a marriage that spanned two decades and produced seven children; and the purpose of a life that was once rooted most deeply in daily companionship and fatherhood when those things have now been cut adrift.
In short, in these pages, I write to deconstruct myself, my life, and the world in which all these changes are happening. I am looking for answers, understanding, inspiration, and hope.
The unifying theme is not a single identifying topic, but rather the search across various subjects and domains through the lens of my personal experience for the universal truths that affect us all.
As a free reader, you’ll have access to most of my biggest, deepest essays and reflections, all podcast-related posts, and much of my cultural commentary. Occasionally, I open the comments to both paid and free subscribers, but most conversations remain behind the paywall to keep the community discussion focused and remove the need for excessive moderation.
With a paid subscription, you get more:
Exclusive paid subscriber posts.
All private discussions in the TSF community (comments and chat).
My personal audio narration of posts (when available).
Full access to any archived paywalled content.
Any future paid subscriber perks to be determined.
More important than any perk, paid subscribers subsidize this work for all readers, making it possible for me to take the time necessary to do the deep thinking, research, and writing readers come here for.
If you’re curious, start with a 7-day free trial of The Skojec File.
If you would like to support a real human writer who will never publish AI-written content under the guise of a personal essay, please consider upgrading to paid today.
And as a new subscriber, please check out our “Start Here” page, which gives you an introduction to the content and some good pieces to read first.
Thank you for joining this journey—I’m thrilled to have you here!
Best Regards,
Steve SkojecPS: If you ever can’t find a TSF email in your inbox, check your spam folder and mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If it’s in your Promotions tab, move it to your Primary tab to ensure you never miss an update.
Thanks to all of you who have put up with me being a nuclear dumpster fire.
You guys are the best.
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