Freelance Translators from Scratch

In response to the question regarding the potential income in the profession, this is what some established freelance translators had to say:

1. From Corinne McKay at Thoughts on Translation: “Based on informal surveys of other freelance translators I know, I feel that earning the ATA average or more is very doable for people who have excellent skills and promote themselves aggressively; personally I feel that earnings of 60-70K are realistic even if you don’t want to work consistently long hours.” *updated* “I think that 52K is very realistic for someone who has excellent language skills and markets assertively. The latest ATA average is actually up to 60K for full time freelancers.”
2. From Jill Sommer at Sommer Translation and Net Services: “I can verify that you can indeed make $52,000 a year as a freelance translator. It takes a while (maybe a year) to build up a clientele, but you really only need 7-10 clients who regularly send you work to keep busy and solvent. I now have about 14 regular clients and am often turning down as much work as I am accepting.”
3. From Céline at Naked Translations: “…about earnings: yes, $52,000 seems to me a realistic average.”