Did you start small ($) and work your way up?

I started small with Textbroker, quickly left them as some of their orders weren't quite legal. When I could earn 10 cents a word on writing how to hack this or that software manual, I killed my account.

I went and did a few non fiction items. Those still pay me residuals every now and then. But when I went into fiction I was stumbling in the dark. Too many cons wanting cash and not enough legitimate easy startup places.

I eventually went with Smashwords and what I made off of them I started to promote myself. Now I'm about to be in paperback, it was most certainly a tough start.

I balanced two to four projects a week. I learned not to do that anymore. I focus on one project and finish it. ^_^

Yes, I recently resigned from an internship that paid me $5 a post because I lined up another gig at $20 a post. Between that and my part-time writing job, I'm doing well. I recommend that you do it for a bit to gain experience and once you've proven yourself, move on to better paying gigs. Good luck.

Yes. Rare is the lucky person who manages to skip right to the top, but I've noticed that some of the people who get (for example) a first clip in Women's Day might spend months or years without a single second sale because it was a lucky shot and they refuse to aim lower.

I am currently working on four magazine articles for four clients, but I'm very good at multitasking. I've done a lot more at once - it just depends on how you stagger your deadlines. Sometimes when you're waiting to get interviews back, etc. a job can stall out anyway, so there's no point waiting when you can be working on something else as well.

I balance as many projects as I can reasonably handle. Right now it's about, oh, 8 projects. But a lot are regular blogging jobs, so I write a post or two a day. (Or sit down and do 5 - 10 in one sitting.)

I don't think it's bad to start low and work your way up. Or even to have a variety of lower-paying "easier" jobs and some higher paying jobs. That's how I balance things. I can always work on the easier stuff when I'm getting a bit tired. I think probably 3 -4 "major projects" is all I could juggle at one time.

Dawn

Yes. But I still don't turn my nose up at publications in the $0.15/word range if it's an interesting topic. If you're able to provide photos with your magazine articles, it can cause a substential increase in your earnings.
I just query as much as I need money. Juggling four writing gigs at the same time seems to be the max I'm capable of.

When I freelanced, I had jobs of all different pay, all at the same time. Granted, I only freelanced for a few years, and had I continued, I would have likely stopped the lower paying gigs. But my mindset was that I wanted to be working. I wanted my name in print. I wanted to earn "something." And I didn't care if that wasn't what someone else saw as good pay for it. It worked for me. I didn't make a living at it, but I did gain something far more important than money - experience! It sounds almost cliche' but it's true. When I switched to writing books (first will be out later this year) I learned that that experience was far more valuable than I knew. I can't tell you how many lessons learned, I was able to apply to my book. No time being educated is ever wasted. I truly believe that.

My advice? Decide what's important to you. There are no short cuts. Become a student of what you aspire to do and you'll do it. ~Karen

I started small and mainly on content sites, but I found it is ultimately better to stay focused on one or two projects at a time or you will wear yourself thin. I have serious shiny object syndrome and it is something I have to work on everyday. Stay focused! But, yes I think it is hard to jump into big projects right away until you get to know you way around. PLus, it helps to figure out your strengths and weaknesses

I wrote for some lower-paying magazines at first to build up clips, but I don't usually submit to them anymore unless I have an idea I truly want to write that I can't sell to any of the big guys.

With any new article idea, I query the top markets first, then work my way down if they aren't picked up.

Sometimes I sell on the first pitch, and sometimes I don't.