e-authors taking off

It is clear that some authors are doing very well self-publishing their titles as e-books and are quite happy to steer clear of traditional publishers and earn lots of royalties.

From reading the various blogs, I think successful authors do 2 things:

1. They have a body of work. If it is fiction, they tend to write in genres and series. I think e-readers (humans as opposed to devices) devour books so they want more books from authors they enjoy whether it be science fiction, crime or romance.
2. They have a blog presence on the web where they actively engage with readers and would-be authors.

They have often spent fruitless months trying to engage agents and publishers - the one time gatekeepers to the reading public. Now that they can tap into their reading public themselves, they can get the appreciation they knew was out there.