Here's what I mean by "If you do what others do, you'll get what they get."
If you've managed to get someone to pay you some small amount for an article or whatever, you'll get annoyed when you're stuck in the writing ghetto. And it's inevitable that you will. You just don't have the background to move up and out. You think that since you're making $5 an article, anyone who tells you that you could be making $1 to $3 per WORD is a liar.
You're doing what other writers do -- and you're getting what they get.
The key words are: "be willing."
I wrote this article two years ago. It's very relevant today.