I think it's a good start. IME, shooting with a macro lens is much harder than shooting with a regular lens because the depth of field. One thing I do is shoot in AV mode (aperture value) and set it to about 8-10. That tends to get much more in focus. The problem is, the shutter has to stay open very long sometimes, so I must use a tripod.
Also, I using the timer feature is nice. That way, your camera doesn't shake while you hit the button to take the photo. Here's a photo I took today:
