Issues about work and money are personal and may change over time. In college I published in lit journals that didn't pay. I also made my first non-fiction sales for more than I make now, and my first pro fiction sale. Now I wish all the market sites would put token and "for exposure" listings on a separate page where I wouldn't have to wade through them ever again. Yet I remember how cool it was to first make it into print, so I'm still happy for someone making appearances in venues that pay little or nothing.
I posted this in Rejectomancy weeks ago, yet there are new people around and questions about how long to shop a story crop up -- so here's a post that shares Twitter responses, primarily from genre writers who publish regularly, on the most Rs it took to get a sale.
There are cases where stories rejected by token and semi-pro venues went on to a pro sale. The range is 6 subs to more than 40 subs to get a sale.
Right now I find the comments on dry spells heartening. It's been so long since the last sale I'm having to force myself to stay process-focused.
http://amandacdavis.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/wounds-on-our-fronts-failure-and-success/