Get Paid for Writing Crap

I know I've seen that tagline somewhere before but I had to borrow it because it's so true. What's really bothering me is I got the link from Writer's Digest who I'm sure gets a percentage of every ezine reader who visits this paying site. There were sites like this years ago but you never got paid. Maybe it was a good jumping off point for beginning writers but now there's billions of how-to articles all over the internet very badly written and seldom read. The site if you haven't heard about this is called Associated Content. I've heard about it but not enough to pay attention until I saw it being advertised with Writer's Digest. I am a WD devotee. There really isn't any good way to break into any market without keeping up with these folks. Personally, I love them. Is it because they awarded me an Honorable Mention in last year's Writing Competition? It helps. My point is that they got me interested and I went to the site and found out I could get $30 to $40 for articles. Then I read some of them. Ouch. Then I got excited when I saw a Prose link. Double ouch. Really. Now I remember why I quit slaving away trying to freelance to earn money. I was trying to validate myself. It took a three year break and determination but I am focused on fiction because that is the only way to get to where I want to be: on the bestseller's list. If anyone had submitted and published with this site (AC) and made oodles of cash I'd like to hear from them.