I cannot imagine anyone saying no to that question. How much you make is up to you. For starters, making yourself more visible and available opens many doors to opportunity. When you need more work, it helps to call around to the agencies that you enjoy working with the most and letting them know you are available. Another suggestion is to take any assignment that comes your way. Agencies like team players and an eagerness to help them out in a pinch is a highly desired asset. Be ready to take anything from a simple incident eyewitness deposition to a highly technical trial. Your versatility will make you more desirable and you will be sought out, which, in turn, makes you more money. If there is a day during the week where you were not assigned a job, still get up in the morning and get ready for the day. You can still wear your PJs, but be showered, bag packed and ready for anything and be ready to bolt. You would be amazed at how many fabulous last-minute jobs you miss out on by not being ready.
Realtime. When you hear the word realtime, your first thought may be, "I can't realtime." If you run to realtime instead of run from it, you will realize how much you CAN realtime. The first steps to realtime is adjusting your thoughts about it. Realtime does not have to be sent to the attorneys to reap benefits from it....at least not in the beginning. You must work yourself up to it. "One cannot fly into flying." - Nietzsche. The immediate benefits of learning to realtime is that you can produce your transcripts faster. This, in turn, helps you produce your transcripts quicker which makes for happier clients, faster paychecks and more time doing the things you love best. Set your laptop up on each job and work on your conflicts and briefs. The more you improve your skills and the more you are comfortable setting up your equipment, the faster you will become comfortable with the reality that you are a realtime writer.
Hire a scopist or a proofreader. Sure this will cost you money, but it will make you more than you spend and you increase your accuracy and efficiency. It's a win-win.
So what are you waiting for? Give yourself a raise right now!
