It's not really a guide, but I strongly recommend newcomers take a look at emacs prelude (https://github.com/bbatsov/prelude https://github.com/bbatsov/prelude)

It's not really a guide, but I strongly recommend newcomers take a look at emacs prelude (https://github.com/bbatsov/prelude https://github.com/bbatsov/prelude), which is a really good starter kit. I recommend turning guru-mode off (AFAICT its only use is to holler at you to use C-n instead of down-arrow), and turning helm on everywhere. I know a lot of folks really like spacemacs — I'm not a fan of the vi keybindings, or of its version of emacs-style keybindings, but regardless it's a really well-made emacs starter kit.