I can totally identify with you. I have written a few posts which I thought were really good. I worked hard on them. Some even took me 2-3 hours to complete. And they went on to make me less than $2.
I often get discouraged by that because I see a lot of posts that probably took about 10 minutes to produce, and they make hundreds of dollars.
I guess we need to remember that we are lucky to make anything at all, as SteemIt is the only site of its kind.
I think the attitude we should have is just to come and have fun and interact with our fellow Steemians, and if we make a little money, it's a bonus.
Anyway, please don't give up. Keep on going. Persistence and hard work are always rewarded. :)