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Science and self-publishing helps The Martian author’s career take off

Turning a hobby into a serious career may be the dream of many budding writers, but bridging the gap is something few ever achieve.

Computer programmer Andy Weir became an accidental best seller after The Martian, his first full-length story, turned out to be a hit on his science fiction website.

At the request of readers, he self-published the novel for Kindle, which led to thousands of Amazon sales and caught the eye of Crown Publishing Group.

But prior to The Martian reaching the 2014 New York Times Best Seller List, and being adapted into a hit movie the following year, Andy had spent more than a decade writing web comics and science-based short stories.

It had been a slow, dedicated countdown to his writing career finally taking off.

He urges anyone hoping to follow in his footsteps to do the same – write yourself ready for when that first novel may come along.

The 52-year-old explained: “What I tell people who want to try to break into the business is… imagine you’re a sculptor instead of a writer, and you’re driving along and see this big chunk of marble out in the field and you’re like, ‘You know what? The shape of it and the texture of it, that would be perfect for a statue of Zeus’.

“You buy it from a farmer, then you get your truck – this thing weighs like four tons.

“You’ve got to get it up into your truck; then you drive it to your workshop.

“You’ve got to do all this back-breaking labor to get that chunk of marble into your workshop.

“And there you go, now you’re ready – you start carving the statue of Zeus.

“So all of that work you did right there, that’s like the first draft for a writer. You have completed the entire book before you’ve really started the book.”

For The Martian, Andy used all of the writing ability, problem-solving skills, and scientific knowledge he’d developed over the years and through publishing on his website to gradually piece together a gripping narrative that had readers hooked.

Even after the success of his debut, Andy continued practising through writing and publishing web comics and short stories before launching into his second and third novels, Artemis and Project Hail Mary.

Both have enjoyed major international success, won awards, and been adapted for the screen.

But he admits, writing a successful novel is still hard work.

Andy continued: “I think of writing as being kind of like gardening – you do it because you like the result.

“I like having the end result of having this beautiful garden, lots of flowers, trees, shrubs, everywhere I wanted. Everything worked out exactly the way I wanted.

“But actually, when you’re digging the ditches and pulling the weeds, it’s not pleasant.

“You do it because you want the result – that’s the kind of writer I am.

“Project Hail Mary, for instance, I think it was the 18th draft that went to print.

“It’s not just like I sit down at my keyboard, type magic, and then walk away. It’s hard work.”

While many authors believe being adaptable is the key to success, Andy has no intention of straying from the hobby that led him to become one of America’s bestselling writers.

He added: “I’m a hard sci-fi author.

“I like to stick to real science as much as possible, and that’s just because I’m a science dork.

“It’s my hobby, my passion – this is what’s interesting to me.

“Everybody’s good at their hobby, right? I’m all about the science.”

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