I made 40k woodcutting in about 5 minutes.
Put in a bid for 20 wood at 2k a pop (risky, but viable in a empty forest). Filled my own order, received 20 wood, and almost 50k for chopping my own wood.
basically a free horse and saddle. Which I already had at the time, because like you, I jumped into the game without reading any tips.
A bit grindy at first. But after a couple days of playing, and MANY armies being destroyed and rebuilt, I think I can say, every problem ive had so far, aside from 1, has been user error.
True, you dont get to bankrupt every kingdom in reach by making a couple Javelins, but it makes more sense if you quit bitching, and give it a shot.