What do Amanda Hocking, Colleen Houck, and Michael J. Sullivan all have in common?

They all started out self-publishing their books digitally, until their popularity drew the attention of traditional publishers.

I've been following the ebook scene pretty closely for the past 18 months or so, and I've noticed that there seems to be a trend lately where popular authors who have self-published their books are getting picked up by traditional publishers.  Having proven that their books have true selling power and that they are able to market themselves effectively, not to mention with an established readership to sweeten the deal, they are able to negotiate traditional book contracts and get physical copies of their books into bookstores.

If you pay attention to ebook issues and authors, you may already know about the best-known example of this: Amanda Hocking.  Earlier this year, Hocking signed a 4-book contract with St. Martin's, a division of the large traditional publisher Macmillan.  Although this contract was for a brand-new series, a few months ago St. Martin's also picked up Hocking's bestselling Trylle Trilogy (Switched, Torn, and Ascend).  The traditionally published versions are due out in January, February, and April, respectively, and the first book in the new series is coming out in late 2012.

Hocking isn't the only one to have been picked up by traditional publishers, either.  I'm currently reading Tiger's Curse, the first book in a popular YA fantasy series by Colleen Houck, and my husband has expressed an interest in Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan.  According to the book descriptions and author bios, both of those books started out as popular self-published ebooks.

It's quite a change for the industry, where authors used to struggle (and many still do) with the stigma of being self-published.  Perhaps one of the greatest things that e-readers have done is to give self-published authors a more attainable and more credible outlet for their work.  With all the peope who own e-readers, there is a substantial readership where self-published authors can make a name for themselves.

Do you have any favorite self-published authors, and have any of them made it to the big time yet?