You've only been here a short time.

I would expect that you will be fine and eventually will start earning much more money. It took me a year and a half to get to decent money, but you may be luckier, more interesting, or more prolific. And once you do get there, it goes up quickly.

Contrary to some silly advice you got here, the following game is worthless. Those people won't *read* and reading is what earns money.

Gain REAL followers by reading other writers and making thoughtful, useful comments on their posts.

I've tried many different subjects here; for me, tech is the earner. But for a friend who started at the same time, it's politics. Find out what works for you and double down on it.

And be patient. It takes time to build a real following.

Finally: I recommend NOT publishing at other publications. The "you must submit to publications" era is over. Medium is concentrating on authors now, not pubs. They say that themselves in their blog, but the old hands here are stuck in the mud and will still tell you to submit, submit, submit. Shrug.