Welcome to the wonderful world of film!
Advice:
1)You already sound like you know what you're doing! That's the first point! Keep that up at all times!
2)Every time you start a project, keep it within the scope of what you can accomplish, but aim to improve one area...as in, start just making A movie, then next time, try action, next time lighting, next time audio... then when you believe you can do them all, make a "real" short. We did alot of teaser trailers early on- that's a fun way to start.
3) Eventually, when you start to get serious, get a boom mic, lights, and as much equippment as you can. But before that, just have fun. It's important to spend the first few films creating the good memories.
4) Let yourself make mistakes. They're invaluable to learning. More so than getting it right by fluke.
Other people know more about the book thing... I wish I was literate....
Anyway- welcome!
-Logan-