Lightbox Studios · Tyler, Texas · Partnership Concept
An author's podcast is on Spotify, their videos are on YouTube, their social content is on Instagram, and their courses are on another website. This concept puts all of it in one app. We built it far enough to react to — what we want from you is a read, not a yes.
Concept
The Author App
Partner
Lightbox Studios
Studio
110-A Erwin, Tyler
Built on
The ask
Your honest read
Press ↓ to begin · F for fullscreen
A reader who finishes the book goes looking for more from the author, and what they find is scattered across five different platforms. This app puts everything in one place, and we produce new content to fill it.
Five platforms, five audiences, and no single place that ties them together.
Everything, in one app.
The last page of the book invites the reader into the app. Here's what a reader does inside.
She opens the app and it feels like the author's own space. Something new is already waiting for her.
→ Home screenThe masterclass picks up where the book left off, in the author's own voice.
→ Courses screenShe asks a question. The author answers. Two other readers welcome her in.
→ Community screenShe can see her streak and her progress, and she knows the people here. By month four the app is part of her week.
→ You screenThis design didn't start finished. We wireframed the structure first, drew a full concept around it, and then built the screens you're about to see.
1 · Wireframe
Where it started: boxes and structure, before any design.
2 · First design
The first full concept, drawn so we could react to something real.
3 · The app today
The same screen as it looks now, in the app's own style.
Home shows what's new, Courses holds the masterclasses, Listen plays the audiobook and the podcast, Community is where people talk, and You tracks progress. Every screen is live, so scroll around.
HomeArrive
CoursesLearn
ListenAnywhere
CommunityBelong
YouStay
Here's how we think the pieces fit — and what everyone gets out of it. Every number in this deck is a starting point for a conversation, not a term sheet.
Ave Maria Press
Brings the authors
Lightbox Studios
Films, edits, and runs the app
The author's app
A monthly base + content packages
Their podcast, courses, audiobook, and community in one app with their name on it — their readers in one room they own, not scattered across five algorithms. They show up and talk; we handle the rest.
A new thing to offer every author on your list without building or running anything — and a share of every subscription, for every author you bring.
Build and run the app on our Gathera App System, film at our Tyler studio at a discounted rate for Ave Maria Press, edit everything, and keep it live day to day.
The app is a flat monthly base. Content is packages — podcast, audiobook, masterclass — each priced on its own, paid up front or spread monthly. An author starts small and adds only what their readers ask for. Exact rates depend on the author's catalog, so we'd rather bring real numbers to a real conversation than print guesses here.
Monthly baseflat, per author
Their own app on our Gathera App System — design, hosting, updates, and day-to-day running. This is the only fixed cost.
Per seasonup front or monthly
Filmed at the Tyler studio, edited, and published in the app.
Per bookup front or monthly
Recorded, mastered, and delivered in-app alongside the print edition.
Per courseup front or monthly
Filmed and structured into lessons that pick up where the book ends.
Four phases, and we can stop after any of them.
Phase 01
Someone who's comfortable on camera, with readers already asking for more.
You bring
The author and their catalog.
Phase 02
We get the podcast, the masterclasses, and the short-form content in one visit. The author just shows up and talks.
We bring
Studio, crew, direction, post.
Phase 03
We edit everything, upload it, and the author's app goes live.
Shared
A split of every subscription.
Phase 04
We go through the subscriptions and activity with you and let the results make the call.
Decision point
Expand, adjust, or stop.
No decision needed today. What would help us: does this fit how you think about your authors? Did anyone on your list come to mind while you scrolled? What would make this a no? If it's worth a conversation, write us.
admin@lightboxcollective.coBuilt on Our Gathera App System · gatheraapp.com
Lightbox Studios · 110-A Erwin, Tyler, Texas · Concept, placeholder content throughout