Hey @michaeljn! I just read you post and answered your questions on there, I hope that it sheds some light on those topics, let me know if you have any more questions!

I totally understand the feelings in terms of rewards, I actually started posting back around August, but got discouraged that I wasn't getting any rewards, so I quit. But then I returned to Steemit around November and decided to put some money where my mouth was and I got some delegations and I also bought Steem Power, which has greatly increased my level of rewards here. I think it's really important to also post consistently and post great content.