Thanks for bringing the elite of storytelling to our wonderful network, David!
I haven't read the book The Martian but I loved the movie. Actually I watched the video on demand not too much time ago, so my memory's been quite fresh when I followed the interview now. It was great to come to know some details on the creation process by the author himself now!
When you were talking about luck and timing, it reminded me much of the Steem network. Whether our content becomes trending or not in this eco-system, also depends on many different factors - and timing is definitely one of them.
Obviously the uniqueness of the story is key, and I'm pretty sure you created something unique with The Martian, Andy Weir. Thanks for stopping by and providing us with some insight into your great work!
I highly recommend the book The Martian as well as his new one, Artemis.