Hi Melissa, my suggestion is for you to work for a Title company or Abstracting company for 6 mos to a year. I started in this business  in 1989 as a file clerk for Commonwealth Land Title, over the years I moved to escrow assistant for 2 years, then I was a closer for two years (yuck) and later into title exam and abstracting for 10 years. I can tell you that experience has helped me quite a bit now that I am on my own. I learn and discover new things in abstracting all the time. I have 10 yrs in this end of the title insurance business and the only way to get experience under your belt is to work for or with someone / company that can supervise your work. I don not think it is a good idea to go independent with no experience and or only 6 months in to this field. I may be wrong, but you sound like a very intelligent, motivated person and I am sure you can learn the ropes, but I advise any newbie to go work for a reputable title company and learn the basics from them. Take care!