Hello, and welcome to PirateCat Publishing! I'm so glad you found us!
One of the common questions about PirateCat is, "What exactly is it (😅)... and how does it work?"
I often refer to PirateCat as my "reading portal" where you can access my (and M.J. Padgett's) CLEAN young adult fiction--and it is! But today I want to break down a little bit of how PirateCat works, and what features you'll find inside when you subscribe.
Feature #1 - LOTS of clean, young-adult fiction to read!
Between M.J. and myself, we currently have nearly 30 full YA novels inside PirateCat (in multiple different series!), spanning from fantasy to science fiction to romance, drama, and romantic comedy... along with two lengthy fantasy serials which are still ongoing and will be resuming with weekly episodes in mid-February and mid-March 2025!
In addition to the full-length books and serials, there are also a lot of completed short stories -- 54 of them, to be exact! Some take place in the same worlds as some of the novels in the PirateCat portal, and others are standalones.
Every story is CLEAN (PG-13 or less, just-kisses romance, no profanity), and marked with content ratings, so you never have to wonder about difficult topics or what type of content is in a story.
There is already a lot of fiction to dive into, but it's not the end! As I said, new episodes of two serials will be posting weekly again soon, and there's more content planned to come in the future!
Feature #2 - Interactivity
This is an optional feature--if you'd rather just lurk in there and read our stories without anyone noticing your presence, you're welcome to do that! But for those of you who enjoy interaction, we've got you covered there, too!
We want PirateCat to be more than a reading portal. We want it to grow into a community of dedicated readers who are THERE for our fiction and want to chat about it! (We love chatting with readers! 😊)
The PirateCat portal provides several ways for our members to interact -- both with other readers, and with us:
Commenting capability on every chapter
Reactions on every chapter and on others' comments (likes, loves, laughs, etc.)
Dedicated Chat groups for every series and story world
Direct-messaging capabilities, where you can message inside the portal directly to admin, the authors, or even other members, one-to-one or in a group chat! (Note: You CAN block other members from messaging you, so if you don't want to participate in chatting, you can block!)
A space in the Chats area where you can submit requests for future content!
Commenting capability on the Worldpedia forum, so you can ask questions about the story worlds (you can also do that in the dedicated Chat groups!)
and more to come!
M.J. and I both got our start as authors on Wattpad, and we LOVED the interactive community there. We know PirateCat is a much smaller community, but we still would love to get to know our readers and chat and interact with all of you!
We hope you'll take advantage of these interactive features. :)
Feature #3 - Behind-the-Scenes info
I mentioned the Worldpedia above. If you're not familiar with it, it's an information-packed forum all about the story worlds inside the portal! If you're a lore-fan and love to geek out over the intricate details of character backgrounds, historical storyworld events, and the nuances of a magic system... this forum is YOUR place!
Right now, there is deep information on the Leyward Stones story world (by Crystal Crawford), and there will be more information coming on the other worlds in the future!
Feature #4 - Bonus content
You also get access to bonus content... including downloadable maps and bookmarks! We plan to expand this section in the future as we grow, which just means more fun downloadable & printable content to come!
Feature #5 - Reader perks!
Just for joining as a PirateCat subscriber, you get perks! You'll receive an email upon your first login as a paying member with a link to download an e-book version of one of the stories inside the portal, so you can read it whether you're logged into PirateCat or not!
In the future, we also plan to offer occasional bonus downloads and other perks for our loyal members.
Feature #6 - Nonfiction (including a fiction-writing guide!)
PirateCat is mostly about clean YA fiction, but there is some nonfiction in the portal! You'll find a memoir about animal training (written by yours truly, about my years spent working with animals), and also a Learn section of the portal, which includes a beginners' fiction-writing guide (because some of our readers are writers too!), with plans for more content to come if the readers desire it!
In short, PirateCat Publishing's features make it:
sort of like our own version of a Patreon, where you get online access to subscribers-only content from us
sort of like a privately owned mini-KU subscription, but for CLEAN young-adult fiction just from M.J. and me, where you can read whenever you want and know it's always clean!
a safe place for you (or your teens) to browse and read YA stories without worrying about inappropriate content or wondering about reading levels (we have everything marked with content ratings)
a place for MJ and I to build community around our stories, and get to know our readers!
And it's only $5 a month! (Or less, if you do the yearly subscription!)
I'll be doing another post soon to talk more about WHY I created PirateCat, so keep an eye out for that one, if you're curious... but for now, I just really hope you'll give us a try!
You can find out more about how to join (and read samples of our content!) at http://piratecatpublishing.com/join! 🙂️🎉
If you have any other questions about the features inside PirateCat Publishing, just comment them below and I'll do my best to answer them promptly!
Sincerely,
Crystal Crawford
PirateCat Publishing owner/operator
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