Welcome to Spring 2024 at PirateCat Publishing!
Because we have some new visitors these days who may not have been here when we launched, this month's update is dedicated to the basics:
--Who we are
--Why we exist
--And the loads of cool stuff you can read in our portal!
Let's dive in.
Who We Are
PirateCat Publishing is very much an indie project. It is a clean, young adult fiction reading platform owned and run by me (Crystal Crawford, typing here) with a lot of help and collaboration from my good friend and fellow indie author, M.J. Padgett.
That brings me to the why....
Why We Exist
We created PirateCat Publishing in 2022 for two main reasons:
1) I needed a publishing platform I could control...
I've been an active indie author for nearly ten years now. I have published on many platforms, and have learned a ton--but one thing that holds steady is the value of having a publishing portal uncontrolled by the whims of major book retailers.
When you subscribe to PirateCat, you are directly supporting my writing (and M.J.'s!). Right now, all our subscription fees go to covering the operational costs on this platform, but eventually, we hope to actually make a small income from all this writing we're putting out into the world... and it would be our dream to grow big enough that we can invite other clean YA indie authors into the portal as well!
Simply put, I wanted to create a platform where I could publish my stories on my own terms and could control what was done with them, and where I could have a direct connection and relationship with my readers.
2) ...that would also be a safe, welcoming place for my readers.
(Because I know how hard it is to find clean YA reading content for teens!)
My goal for PirateCat was to create a portal that not only contained loads of great YA fiction, but also had a way for readers to interact on stories and engage with the authors and with other readers. I wanted to build not only a reading portal, but a community centered around clean YA fiction....starting with my fiction (and MJ's!), and then building out from there as we're able.
Our method here at PirateCat is to curate loads of great YA fiction, that's safe and age-appropriate for teen readers, all in one place--so that teens (and their parents) never have to worry about stumbling upon explicit content or inappropriate subject matter while browsing for new reads. That's why EVERY story inside our portal is not only pre-vetted, but also clearly marked with age recommendations and content warnings for any sensitive subject matter.
That brings me to the content itself...
All the great stories you can read inside our portal!
PirateCat subscribers get immediate and ongoing access to ALL the content inside our portal, which now includes 33 completed novels ready to binge (in a variety of genres!), more than 50 short stories, two non-fiction titles, and one ongoing fantasy serial with new episodes posting twice a week!
It also has a Community section with chat areas for our different series and stories and a general chat thread, interactive commenting on every story chapter, direct-messaging capability so you can interact directly with the authors and other members if you choose to, a "Worldpedia" forum with behind-the-scenes story info for some of our primary story worlds in the portal, plus downloadable extras, and more!
And we have a LOT more content and fun features planned as we get more subscribers and have the financial ability to expand.
Visit our FAQ to see a complete list of all the titles currently available to read inside our portal!
Sound like your kind of reading experience?
If you're not yet a PirateCat subscriber, we'd love to have you! You can find out more on our Join page!
And if you're already a subscriber, feel free to share this blog post with a friend who might enjoy our platform. Word of mouth goes a long way!
Thank you ALL for being here and for supporting our mission to build a thriving community around quality, clean YA stories.
Happy reading!
Sincerely,
Crystal Crawford
PirateCat Publishing owner and operator