Many small press publishers are selective and insist on good writing. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work for a writer to work their way up in small press and develop a reputation for good writing. Meanwhile, one does NOT get rid of their day job. Eventually one should acquire a literary agent or attempt submitting a manuscript to various publishers on their own. Only after a writer succeeds in getting a contract should one even consider giving up their day job.
Many writers are never able to give it up.
It is a rough world out there. Some writers manage to survive on writing for magazines but that is considerably different from trying to get a book published. It is something we will go into sometime in articles for one or more of our zines. The zine market has grown considerably during the past twenty or so years with some ups and downs. However, with the advent of the Internet the zine market has grown tremendously and continues to grow.