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Remember, too, that you won't be able to type for very long with a sore back and aching shoulder blades. You'll need a decent chair, but it doesn't have to be an expensive one. I bought mine used, from a junk store, for $5.00.

REFERENCE WORKS

Reference books are time and work savers, and their cost is tax deductible. Keep a dependable almanac, dictionary, telephone directory, area map, and zip code book on hand.

If you're working for physicians or court reporters, you'll also need some help with medical terms. Syllabus for the Surgeon's Secretary by J.A. Szulec (Medical Arts Publishing, Detroit, Michigan, 1969) is a good all-around reference, and I can recommend either Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary (12th edition edited by Clayton L. Thomas, F.A. Davis Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1973, $9.50) or Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary by William A. Dorland (W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, Pa., 1965, regular edition $13.50, deluxe edition $17.00). Another useful guide-Physician's Desk Reference (PDR)-is a manual provided annually to the medical profession which lists drugs under various classifications. Ask your doctor for his last year's copy.

PUBLICITY

Advertising will help you build your business but there's no need to go overboard. A well-placed business card (as Gail has suggested, you can type up your own on 3" X 5" file cards which are both less expensive than "regular" printed business cards and don't get lost so easily) will attract as many clients as an ad in the middle of a large newspaper's classified section. Letters and phone calls to likely prospects also give good results.

LEGAL TYPING

If you want to zero in on Ms. Williams' specialty legal typing you'll find court reporters and deposition services listed under "Reporters" in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory (or the clerk of your local court can tell you how to get in touch with them).

A word of caution regarding the legal field: Some court reporters and deposition services have an annoying habit of not paying their typists until their clients pay them. If both attorneys involved in a case want a copy of the record, your payment for the second carbon isn't always guaranteed nor is the fee for the work you do on a cross-examination, if any. The problem is that the firm which originally hired the reporter isn't always willing to pay for the transcription of the adversary's questions. When you do collect your money, however, you can expect around here to average 50d a page (considerably better than the 30 paid in Gail's parts).

SECRETARIAL SERVICES

Another possibility for the home typist is to work for a secretarial service (also listed in the Yellow Pages). Such firms usually offer around-the-clock transcription to law firms, physicians, psychiatrists, and large businesses. Normally they'll deliver and pick up your jobs and some also provide typewriters, Stenorettes, ribbons, erasers, stationery, and typing paper. They don't pay ,quite as well as court reporters but are easier to work for, get their checks out bi-weekly, and deal with material which is less boring than depositions. Incidentally, if your clients don't pick up and deliver and they're located some distance from where you live, try UPS. For $2.00 a week a messenger will come by your house daily Monday through Friday, the service takes only 24 hours door to door, nothing ever gets lost, and the cost is tax deductible. just contact the nearest United Parcel Service office it's listed in the phone directory. (There's nothing like working through the post office to make you appreciate UPS. I once made the mistake of mailing a finished job and it took three weeks to go 50 miles.)

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