Young People Should Invest Their Time, Heart And Resources In Chasing Their Passion-- Uche Odika Junior

Uche Odika Junior is an author and CEO Toprint Global Services Ltd., one of the fastest growing editing and  publishing firms in Abuja.

TMG> Share a little of your background with us...

Uche> I graduated from University of Abuja with a first degree in Political Science and International Relations. I did my postgraduate Studies in Advance Research in Politics, Democracy and Elections both in Manchester, United Kingdom.

TMG> Tell us about your journey into book writing...

Uche> I'm a professional writer.  While I was in my first year in the University of Abuja, I attended a book presentation authored by late John Shagaya, titled "Governance in Nigeria: IBB's Era". The event took place at Sheraton Hotels, at Ladi Kwali hall precisely, and I was inspired when Late John Shagaya was called to give his author's remark. That was the beginning of this journey. So, when I was in my second year in the university of Abuja, I wrote my first book titled "Inspirational Leaderships". So it has been a good journey so far.

TMG> Tell us about an accomplishment that you are most proud of in your career.

Uche> The most accomplishment is not just the money, but fulfilment I got from my readers that have bought several of my published books online, especially from the United States and United Kingdom.

TMG> Tell us about your management style and how you handle your Customers and readers?

Uche> Our customer relations has been wonderful.
We always try to build one on one customer relations.

TMG> How do you distribute and market your books?

Uche> Our market is basically online, via Google books, Amazon, Blackwell etc..

TMG> Why should people read your books? What’s unique about your books?

Uche> According to most of my readers, the uniqueness of my book is mainly on the quality of the context analysis.

TMG> How do you help people reading your books? What advice do you bring: What guidance, counsel?

Uche> Though sometimes quite provocative, and unpredictable, there has always been a balance argument with profound analysis.

TMG> Who is your target audience and what response do you get from them?

Uche> My audience consists mostly of people with interest in governance process, national growth and development, electoral engineering and leadership  discourse.

TMG> How do you get readers' attention towards your work?

Uche> I get my reader's attention through online marketing and advert.

TMG> Tell us something you would like to learn or improve upon.

Uche> I'm working hard to improve this year by learning how to write in French.

TMG> What are your challenges and how do you intend to handle them?

Uche> One of the biggest challenges in Nigeria, in terms of writing is that most Nigerians don't read, and we end up exporting our works beyond the shores of this country. And I think I need to do more of short books

TMG> What do you do to stay educated about new trends?

Uche> To stay educated of new trends, I watch documentaries and current movies, and 24-hour online news like TakeMyGist.

TMG> Does it hurt your feelings when your editor or art director tells you something is wrong with your story or pictures at the last minute?

Uche> It doesn't hurt my feelings for an editor or someone to say that something is wrong with my work. As a professional, criticism helps to improve our work.

TMG> How do you handle labour cost? If your labour is running high, what measures do you take to control it?

Uche> Talking about labour cost, I have a publishing firm; I'm part of it, so it's not really an issue to me.

TMG> Do you ever worry about plagiarism? 

Uche> There's always the fear of someone stealing your work, especially when you send it online, but if you put the necessary securities in place, it's somehow safe.

TMG> What way can you encourage other youths not to depend on government for work?

Uche> Truly Government does not create jobs. The responsibility of the government is to create an enabling and conducive environment for the private sectors to thrive.

But our government hasn't even done the basic, and I strongly believe that in life, little can be achieved without passion. So our young people should invest their time, heart and every resources at their disposal in chasing their passion.

TMG> Do you have time to socialise and how?

Uche> Yes, especially on weekends. I hang out a lot with friends.