You can absolutely make a living as an author! But you have to be prepared to work harder than others sometimes. Not everyone gets the big contract up front or a massive print run. You can do it on Patreon. Or self publish. Or a web serial. Or all of the above. The playing field is never equal but that doesn’t mean you can’t play. You’ve just got to pivot and hustle if that NY contract isn’t paying the bills on its own.