Change is a wonderful Week 1 topic on this here blog, since many of us have been dying to get into the blogging game. Now we have a terrific way to do it!

I’ve instituted several new things lately designed to get new clients and manage the ones I have. For several months I’ve been a member of Freelance Success, a forum for practicing journalists and some corporate writing types (including our very own Anne Ford!). The people in this group are some amazing examples and resources, and I’ve utilized their advice on everything from book proposals, bidding projects, and especially the intricacies of magazine pitching. I can definitely say that I’ve got some trade magazine jobs in the last few months because of what I’ve learned on the forum.

Several times a year they hold a “Query Challenge,” a friendly competition designed to encourage more productive and frequent magazine pitching, with the end goal of more magazine assignments. The current challenge starts this week, and I’ve signed up. I am determined to send out more, better queries, and get some assignments from national magazines! My goal is at least one query a day, and so far it’s tough, but rewarding.

In the meantime, I’m still focusing on my growing roster of marketing/corporate clients. I’m getting a lot of work lately, which is terrific. But its taxing my organization abilities. And that brings me to another big change I’m working with. I just picked up Getting Things Done by David Allen. I’ve been seeing his name and “GTD” on blogs everywhere, with lots of support. I’m always leery to buy things by “gurus,” because of the culty connotations But so far I’m really jazzed about the book. Some very practical and relatively simple recommendations for organizing not only my professional life but personal.

Anyone else had experience with GTD or similar systems?