Are there any translators out there working freelance that could lend a few tips to a newbie about getting work?

I am a translator but have never worked freelance, so I don't have any advice except to have a look at these interviews: http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2009/03/29/the-many-paths-to-translation-work

That link looks useful. I am a freelance translator, but I do German-English legal translation, so my newbie days (many years ago) were in a completely different market and language combination. My best contacts have been colleagues who I've helped on mailing lists with legal translation problems. There are some websites where translators can register themselves as looking for work - e.g. www.proz.com - and although most of the work offered is not at the kind of rates you can live on, I gather that some people get offers that are worthwhile, simply because their CV was there.

But it depends on where you are - the translation market is very diverse.

Bootstrapping yourself is almost impossible as a newbie. It’s a classic Catch-22: You need experience to translate, but nobody wants to hire somebody with no experience.

You normally need another job first to make contacts. Teaching jobs are much easier to come by and allows you to translate in a low-risk environment. That's what I do.

Another thing: Good paying translation work is hard to get unless you fill some sort of niche. I read that it took a year and a half to translate 1Q84. That’s a long time for a single book.