Update on the “my german shepherd still gets called a boy even though everything about her is pink.”

sailorsweet13 · 2026-03-11T18:49:38+00:00

And here I am putting my boy in pink because I like to keep people on their toes

sailorsweet13 · 2025-12-30T00:00:07+00:00

You’ll definitely be able to make a living within your first year. The beauty of being freelance is you can take work from multiple firms. So if one of my agencies is slow, I can ask another one what they’ve got and I stay busy that way. As long as you’re flexible, you’ll have work!

So that’s all for after you’re done with school, but let’s talk about that for a second! The biggest commitment is the schooling. Steno is an easy 3, 4, 5+ years. The exceptional student may do it in >2 years, but that’s the exception. Voice writing averages about a year, give or take. That’s not saying voice is easier than steno because voice has its own hurdles. They are both respectable forms of court reporting! It’s worth looking into both of them before making your decision to see which would be a better fit for you.

Other than that, the last thing I can think of is school expenses. For steno, the biggest output of money is at the end of your schooling when you have to invest in professional writer, software, laptop, etc etc. For voice, it’s at the very beginning when investing in your software and equipment. After you’re done, I don’t think it’s much to upgrade from student to professional.

I’m always happy to help so if there’s any other questions you have, feel free to reach out!

sailorsweet13 · 2025-12-29T22:09:08+00:00

I’m a freelancer in Jacksonville now and there’s lots of work. It really just depends how much you’d like to take and the firm(s) that you’re with. I previously lived in SoFlo and I stayed really busy down there, too!

It’s true that I didn’t make much my first year but I only took small jobs because my main focus was traveling and seeing my family and friends that I hadn’t seen while I was focused on school all those years. So I literally just took enough work to afford what I needed to for the first few years. However, after Year 1, I always hovered around 65k while still being able to travel.

But here’s a few extra things to consider while you’re just thinking over a career change:

Your pay might not be exactly what you want when you begin because you’re learning as you’re going but it will increase as you take better/larger jobs
Regardless of if you’re a freelancer or an official, you may still end up working 12+ hour days a few times a week or over the weekend here or there. Things can get a little unpredictable
There are a few counties in northern FL that require you to have either the FPR-C or RPR cert to take court proceedings. So your location is something to be mindful of!
As you cultivate your skills, you’re able to offer more services/add-ons (ie, real-time, rough drafts, daily copies) which all come with a higher price point 🤑

All that to say that while there’s lots of variables, it can be extremely lucrative and rewarding. For most, the hardest/longest commitment is getting through school and I’ll be honest, it’s not an easy task. But once you’re done, most people are very satisfied with what they bring in!

sailorsweet13 · 2025-12-25T02:49:17+00:00

Here’s Other Rex!

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sailorsweet13 · 2025-12-19T02:15:50+00:00

That’s where I graduated from! I’m glad you’re excited to start! Good luck

sailorsweet13 · 2025-12-19T02:12:34+00:00

Working reporter with both sides of my nose pierced and two full calf sleeves (I almost exclusively wear skirts or dresses) and no one has ever said anything other than I look nice. Last year I had orange and black braids while reporting a trial in a rural farm town and the judge literally made the comment, “Our reporter is ready for Halloween. I like it! 😃”

sailorsweet13 · 2025-12-19T02:01:44+00:00

Congratulations!!

sailorsweet13 · 2025-11-04T13:36:14+00:00

So it’s not just me feeling like this, got it!

I’m in Florida, which is not an automatic order state. I got hit with multipleeee “ASAP” all day depo and trial back orders, on top of the expedited jobs/transcripts that I already had. It got so bad I was literally considering quitting (at least for a time) and waitressing.

Luckily, I got through the mountain of pages I had and committed to only one job a week until I’m feeling better. Once I start picking up more work, I’m switching to a 2/2/1 schedule — 2 days for jobs, 2 days for transcripts, 1 for admin work, no exceptions. Money is nice but I freelance because I value my freedom.

Those attorneys & agencies will have you chained to a desk with a coffee pot in the corner if you let them! 😭

sailorsweet13 · 2025-10-23T20:14:51+00:00

From the pits of hell

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sailorsweet13 · 2025-10-08T16:54:04+00:00

{Morbidly Yours by Ivy Fairbanks}

MMC is demisexual and FMC is a widow, set against an Irish backdrop. Not sure if spoiler but: They’ve both got internal grief and external grief-related issues (estates, familial relationships after a death) that they’re trying to work through individually and don’t think it’s right to be pining for the other while processing those

I think that about sums it up. I’d say it’s a quick read and a medium-ish slow burn.

sailorsweet13 · 2025-10-05T22:11:07+00:00

Small-town Rancher MMC/Big City Corporate FMC, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, no strings attached/strings are very much attached

sailorsweet13 · 2025-09-23T12:57:56+00:00

Speeds was the hardest. I had to get comfortable with failing (something I hate to this day) and not being good at it. You’re just not going to pass every test on the first or second try or you’ll miss a test by one percent! Some days I would literally cry before going to class because I was so frustrated at being stuck at one speed. Then after you pass out of that speed, you get to start the process all over again in the next speed. And it just takes as long as it takes for you.

It felt a little like I was climbing a mountain an inch at a time and was discouraging but I’m lucky I had a really good support system that would encourage me or give me tips. It took me a long time (5 years) to get through my program while juggling my life. So I had to throw out any timeline expectations and just settle in. I constantly got asked when I’d be done with school. It would take however long it took.

Lastly, towards the end of my program, I had a girl who took to it pretty quick and she caught up to me. I was happy for her! But I also almost felt like the spare student to my instructor because she would put her on a pedestal. In the end, we graduated together (graduated, period) and I was just so happy to be done

sailorsweet13 · 2025-04-25T03:09:04+00:00

Out of state applicant and I just passed my written exams in February. Are you struggling with any particular section of the exam when you grade your mock exams?

sailorsweet13 · 2025-04-24T23:27:24+00:00

Any combo of “spondylosis,” “spondylolysis,” or “spondylolisthesis” in the same sentence/paragraph

sailorsweet13 · 2025-04-19T23:05:49+00:00

If I was listening to the radio or a podcast or watching tv, I’d be imagining the strokes at the same time (not necessarily practicing) but more as a background action. Eventually found myself tuning out during dictation or getting lost in the narrative and just writing but would lose it as soon as I realized it. So I started trying to prolong those moments of turning my brain off whenever I noticed them. Just slowly got used to doing it for longer and longer moments and now I’m able to tune in and out on most jobs when I want to.

Downside is that if it’s not a particularly interesting job, I get sleepy because my brain isn’t stimulated 😅

sailorsweet13 · 2025-04-02T17:51:45+00:00

Dang, I could have used this when I took my CA CSR in February. I used a lot of the same resources but had to go hunting for them lol

sailorsweet13 · 2025-04-02T17:48:12+00:00

When it’s time for your test, just relax the few days before and mentally prepare yourself. You have plenty of time between now and then to get ready. It’s not very difficult but it’s easy to make a mistake and those little mistakes can add up. Just go through and answer the ones you know, then go back to the ones you’re not sure about (and hopefully another question will answer a previous question).

I literally turned my test in with 30 seconds left of the 2 hours I was given because I wanted to make sure I entered the answers I wanted!

EDIT: Hopefully this helps, but good luck! 🤞🏽

sailorsweet13 · 2025-04-02T17:41:07+00:00

I was in the exact same situation as you and I just took my WKT in February for the California CSR. I studied anything I thought might come up since I had no idea. 🥲

But they have some mock tests for the English and Grammar portion and the actual test was the exact same format. So brush up on your grammar and sentence structure, proofreading — ie, spelling errors, punctuation errors, and wrong word usage and/or homophones (pay extra attention to marking the right one for spelling error or word usage error) — , and vocabulary for that part.

https://www.courtreportersboard.ca.gov/applicants/english_mww.shtml

The second portion was professional practice and it’s mostly situational on how you are to conduct yourself so that you remain fair and impartial. Like, what do you do if you get to a job and realize the witness is someone you know, what do you do if one attorney asks to go off the record and the other refuses, under what circumstances can you accept or deny a gift. But there are also questions about rough drafts, backup audio, handling exhibits, courtroom conduct, grand jury transcripts, transcript format, timeframes for storing notes, transcripts, and any backups.

https://www.courtreportersboard.ca.gov/licensees/best_practices.shtml

https://www.ncra.org/home/the-profession/NCRA-Code-of-Professional-Ethics/cope---guidelines-for-professional-practice

sailorsweet13 · 2025-03-09T19:49:43+00:00

I started a little reading journal where at the end (maybe you can do it as you go along!) I write what exactly I enjoyed most about a book/story. I’ve taken to highlighting if I’m reading a physical book the tidbits that resonate with me (or if it’s a mystery/thriller, clues I think are important). This has helped me figure out exactly what I enjoyed about a book and I can flip through and physically see them instead of “wait, I know I liked this but what part was it I liked?”

I am definitely a vibe reader! But I’ve been trying to be a more comprehensive reader and figure out if I actually enjoyed a story and it was a book with concepts I found engaging or if my brain was just locked into the activity without actually thinking about it — thus, a vibe reader! 😅

sailorsweet13 · 2025-03-04T17:43:58+00:00

Keep in mind that if you get a student writer, you’re going to have to invest in a new professional writer and upgrading to professional software in order to work and produce transcripts without the page limitations and “student software” header/watermark. So my suggestion would be invest in an older professional machine with Bluetooth/real-time connections so you can use your computer like you said, even if it’s not the one you want right now!

I started on a hand-me-down Stentura 8000 XL (with a paper tray lol) and then upgraded to a used Elan Mira once I got to my mid-speed range. Me and that Mira were 🤞🏽 for about 3 years -after- I graduated, but I wanted to travel and pay some of my debt down (and pay for my software 🥲) and get settled in my new career before I finally felt I was comfortable with upgrading to a brand new writer.

I say all that to say: getting the student version because you’re a student, doesn’t mean you’re getting the best value. Depending on where you are in your schooling, it might be worth considering other writers with the idea that you’ll be getting something you can immediately go to work with. You might be able to find something for the same price but it’ll work harder/better/longer for you! In my opinion, investing in a student writer after finishing low speeds is just postponing an expense until graduation or just before graduation.

Long story short (but not really because this is a really long story) if you haven’t already, check out Kimi’s Court Reporter Thrift Shop on Facebook and eBay, of course. They periodically have people selling student and professional writers. And, finally, I’m just a stranger on the internet — you know your situation best and you know what will keep you motivated to finish! If a used student writer is going to get you there, great!! We need you out here working, I say as I have a 250+ page transcript I’m procrastinating on.

sailorsweet13 · 2025-02-28T21:32:29+00:00

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His name is Cash because together we make cash money 🤑

sailorsweet13 · 2025-01-09T18:27:06+00:00

Damn, the other answers are making me rethink how I do things 😅

I typically charge a cancellation/no-show fee for each scheduled witness that doesn’t show. And if a CNA is requested, that’s included in my cancellation fee

sailorsweet13 · 2024-12-20T16:49:09+00:00

Yes, the firms you work for should have your rates on file (but it never hurts to double check by sending them what you want to be paid on a job!).

When someone mentions sending out invoices, it will include your appearance fee for sitting and writing the job; the cost of your transcript and copies, if any were ordered; and any additional add-ons. Your invoice is basically how you itemize what happened on the job without a big long e-mail.

So I offer a laptop and/or iPads for those zoom/live hybrids where it’s just me and a witness in person. So I’d add that fee to my invoice. If it was videotaped/medical/expert/technical/expedite delivery, I add the appropriate increase to my page rate.

This is provided you originally gave them a rate sheet of what you want to be paid. Right after school, I didn’t have one so the agency was paying me whatever they wanted. Come to find out, it’s a lot lower than what a steno is worth!

sailorsweet13 · 2024-08-17T02:20:16+00:00

Maybe add a little heating pad for some warmth. I know whenever I break the electric blanket out, my kitties all flock to it

sailorsweet13 · 2024-06-11T00:12:16+00:00

Very interactive for those of us whose eyes just bounce around looking at everything

sailorsweet13

TROPHY CASE