Alex asked Andy Weir:

I understand the book was self-published and that you put up all the chapters on the Internet to get feedback, could you expand in this? A lot of first-time writers would be very interested in the process.

Andy Weir Originally the book was just a serial I posted a chapter at a time to my website. Once the book was done, people started requesting that I make an e-book version so they didn’t have to read it in a web browser. So I did and posted it to my site. Then other people emailed saying they want to read the e-book, but they aren’t technically savvy and don’t know how to download a file from the internet and put it on their e-reader. They requested I make a Kindle version they could just get through Amazon. So I did that as well. I set the price at Amazon’s minimum allowable price of $0.99. More people bought the book from Amazon than downloaded it for free from my website. Amazon has a truly amazing reach into the readership market.
The book sold very well and made its way up various top-seller lists on Amazon. That got the attention of Julian Pavia at Crown. He told his colleague David Fugate (a literary agent) about it. David ended up becoming my agent and Julian offered me a book deal. It was a whirlwind of activity because 20th Century Fox optioned the movie rights that same week.

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A manned mission to Mars in the next couple of decades has been talked about by a lot of organizations (NASA for one). What do you see as the biggest roadblock that our current society has created to make this happen? And what is your best idea to change that?

David Henderson asked Andy Weir:

In the original version of the book there was a scene at the very end of the book where Mark is back on Earth. When I reread "The Martian" that scene was cut from the book(newer version). Why was it cut?

Charlotte Jones asked Andy Weir:

Hi! As someone who doesn't really understand complicated science (don't get me wrong I love science but I'm no scientist!), I was wondering how you so brilliantly balanced the idea of including a lot of complicated science into The Martian without alienating some of your audience?

All answers from Andy Weir…

Andy Weir

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I understand the book was self-published and that you put up all the chapters on the Internet to get feedback, could you expand in this? A lot of first-time writers would be very interested in the process.

More Answered Questions

A manned mission to Mars in the next couple of decades has been talked about by a lot of organizations (NASA for one). What do you see as the biggest roadblock that our current society has created to make this happen? And what is your best idea to change that?

In the original version of the book there was a scene at the very end of the book where Mark is back on Earth. When I reread "The Martian" that scene was cut from the book(newer version). Why was it cut?

Hi! As someone who doesn't really understand complicated science (don't get me wrong I love science but I'm no scientist!), I was wondering how you so brilliantly balanced the idea of including a lot of complicated science into The Martian without alienating some of your audience?

About Goodreads Q&A