All the above advice is great - but I'd suggest though to start off with some brighter deep sky objects first.... globular clusters, brighter nebulae, open clusters etc (if you haven't already) mainly to get the hang of star hopping - most galaxies are REALLY dim visually (even the "bright" ones) and you can be staring straight at them and not see them - at least if you are confident at hopping, you'll know exactly where you are looking....
Starry Night Pro is great planetarium software to help you too.