I got into the habit. After a while, I couldn't quit. I tried a few times, but the pull was too strong. It's a bit like an addiction. Now I'm not really qualified to do anything else.
Short stories are arguably one of the toughest writing forms to sell.
The magazines kept folding. I was lucky, though, they kept paying me in advance. Actually, one magazine bought it three times. They kept forgetting to run it, and forgetting to pay me, so every time I resubmitted it, I gave them a new invoice. I only feel a little guilty.