Andy Weir is the author of the bestselling , award winning book The Martian. Weir states, I started writing fiction and just putting it up on my website. The Martian was posted in serial format for free for people to read. Its popularity prompted Weir to self-publish a Kindle version on Amazon in 2012. The Martian rocketed to the top of Amazon's online best-seller charts soon after its release. Random House publishers soon heard of The Martians success, spurring a book deal.