We all start from somewhere. On 8/1/07, my scores were 548-524-545 (EQ-TU-EX). On 11/1/07, they were 631-656-658. I attribute the jump in scores to advice given on this site. The goal is to be in the 700 club by January 1.
Read, read, read. I spent hours reading before I took action on anything. After getting your AA degree in credit repair, take action, document everything, and set goals for each account. If a GW letter is denied, sent another one. If that is denied, send another one, and another, and another. The worst that could happen is that they say "No". Do the same for PFDs or DVs. If you keep getting a "No", then send it to a different address, if available. If not, send it to a different person. Don't let someone earning minimum wage turn your request down.