I want to offer a contrary point of view. Have been in the stock photo market for more than 10 years. I make more than $6500 a year but nowhere near 100,000.
But the real issue is what is your objective. If your objective is to make a living in stock photography, forget it....
...
...
10 km to my home I have friends making far more than a living, each, in microstock. Their month earnings have a flat growth rate, so they are a little worried.
But they earn 8000+ eur MONTHLY.
I can't even reach 300 eur with THREE agencies summed up, so I can't speak for myself as an example... but example is not always a best-practice: examples could be a case study about what not-to-do.
For example I shoot lots (LOTS) of materials but I am sort of lazy in editing, keywording and uploading them. As a result I have something like 30000 (thirty thousand) in images and videos non-uploaded.
Before starting to load my gun and aiming to my head I think I have to upload every single bit.
And remember I continue producing stuff.
Another thing you should keep in mind is that market has grown and "industrialized" ... so single photographers and video-makers that self-employed struggle to compete with sub-agencies. Group of people creating really high visually industry-standard images and footage. Really ready to be used in any kind of commercial, perfect, ready, as good as a non-stock product.
These are TEAMS, agencies, structured groups: when they don't have big-paying clients they could afford to produce stock product. Or they can do the old way: produce stock material WHILE they produce the client one.
and another one, crucial thing:
lots of people make money and are VERY silent. They don't explain. They don't tell. They work and never say something to competitors or anyone else.
We are here like beer-drinkers in a bar, moaning. Did you ever saw Bill Gates in a similar situation? :-D
Jim Pickerell (the author of the linked article) comes , as he stands, from a different past: "
In my best year as a photographer I earned about $175,000. But in the last decade, or more, the industry has been in serious decline. Last year I earned about $6,500 from my newsletter and $300 from my photo archive. 2020 will be much worse as most photographers who used to read the newsletter have given up on the business and moved on to other things. They no longer need the information. " - this is not a loser, but a successful man that sees the times changing.
Even out of microstock agencies there are now intermediaries trying to grab the standard market of on-demand photography (the old times craftmen photographer! THE Photographer) ... Backbone -
https://backbonephoto.co/ Meero -
https://www.meero.com Shoootin -
https://shoootin.com Snappr -
https://www.snappr.com/ Splento -
https://www.splento.com/ Lemonone -
https://www.lemonone.com/ Boom.co , Wesual.co, Cliked.it ... they all are using these "centralized negotiation" method, making the good old times photographer a qualified farm worker. In some years I expect them to buy the gear, you enter, take the gear, go to shoot, go back to give the gear back to the agency, then return to your freezer.
Or
you can be the BEST ARTIST WITH UNIQUE SKILLS AND ... blah. you know.