It's certainly a good theory, although if you spend a while browsing the the hot and trending lists some of the highest paid articles are also the longest and most photo rich content. Finding you way on Steemit is always going to be hard - unless you are brining something unique and interesting you are just one in a million (that's me) - so you either have to network your way up (I'm not a great people person) or reinvest your earnings to keep pushing and promoting your content.