If you're going to buy a kit, and plan on ever doing it again, invest in one of the "Helping Hands" units. One of the biggest frustrations you might find right off the bat is trying to hold the iron, the solder, the wire and the board all exactly where you want them while maintaining contact to evenly heat both items being joined.
As said above, get some scrap wire to practice on, and really practice. A bad solder joint has an immediate potential for failure! Ideally, you should never have to actually touch the solder to the iron. When you touch the solder to your properly heated surfaces, the solder will look like it just got sucked in to all the nooks and crannies. But, you don't want to overheat the surfaces either, you'll end up compromising the insulation making it brittle and it can possibly flake and crack. (Not to mention potential damage to the circuit board!)
It's okay to start by overheating the practice wires just so you can see how the solder is supposed to flow and wick into all the surfaces, but then refine your technique until you can get to the point that no solder wicks in to the insulated part of your wire. You should get to the point where you can do it without causing any discoloration or deformity to the wire insulation (too hot) and no bubbles/balls of solder around your wire (too cold)
