Working Call: Codex Setup, Platform Onboarding, and First Village Photo

The opening

Lehan opened by confirming what had already happened: the AI-generated village images had arrived by email and looked good. Hemasiri had canceled his ChatGPT Plus subscription — billing ends July 5th, one month used for image generation. The call's purpose was to go further and make the next steps easier for him to do on his own.

The Codex lesson

Lehan introduced OpenAI Codex — described as the step beyond ChatGPT, an agentic tool that can operate a computer, write code, generate images, scan files, and run tasks on behalf of the user while they watch. Hemasiri shared his screen. Lehan walked him through downloading Codex for Windows from the ChatGPT website, signing in with his existing account, and adjusting the settings: AI training data switched off, marketing tracking disabled, auto-review mode enabled. Hemasiri's daughter, who studies computing, was flagged as the right person to finish the permissions setup — once done, Codex can access the desktop without drag-and-drop.

The login fix

Hemasiri had not been able to log into AngryPages since the May calls. The password had slipped. Lehan walked him through the reset flow — a CAPTCHA identifying animal icons, an email link, a new password. After one wrong attempt it worked. Lehan could see the account go active from the server side the moment the login succeeded.

The first upload

Once logged in, Hemasiri reached for his phone, opened AngryPages on his mobile browser, and uploaded a photograph he had taken himself in his village. A real image — not AI-generated, not stock — of the land the book is about. He typed a description: "This is my real village." Lehan toggled the visibility setting and saved it. The first piece of original content from Hemasiri's own hands was on the platform.

The pricing decision

Book price: $7.50. Lehan offered three choices — $5, $7.50, or $10 — and asked Hemasiri to decide. He chose $7.50 without hesitation. Reachable for the Sri Lankan diaspora, credible to an international audience, entirely his own call. Royalty terms confirmed: the author keeps 80% of direct sales; ad revenue splits 50/50; AngryPages handles distribution; Stripe handles payment in any currency. For readers who prefer to avoid cards, Lehan proposed a gift card workaround — cash collected locally, a redemption code issued by email, balance credited to the buyer's account.

The transparency moment

Lehan told Hemasiri where AngryPages stood: $38 in total revenue since launch. Roughly 200,000 people per week visiting the site. No book sales yet — pre-orders open, no buyers. He said it plainly and explained the path: targeted advertising once the book is complete. During the call, Hemasiri asked Codex to evaluate AngryPages as a publisher. It returned: early stage, verify legal terms before sending a full manuscript. Lehan answered every question on screen. Terms are published at angrypages.com. Royalty and payment terms were already stated. Copyright stays with the author. AI training is off by default on the platform — the author has to opt in for the publisher to see content at all.

Outcome

Twenty-two chapters written. One real village photograph now on the platform. Codex installed. Price set. The military memoir — working title Footprints Across the Sky — has not been started; Hemasiri said he would begin after the following Tuesday. Lehan committed to building a bulk-upload tool within two to three days so images can be attached to story cards without uploading one at a time. Hemasiri's rowing team competition is June 13 at Port City.