This article in Sailing World by Steve Hunt is a good summary of first beat strategy for intermediate sailors.  It emphasizes key principles such as:

• Get clear air
• Stay with the fleet
• Go to the favored side, but don’t be the furthest to that side
• In light air, avoid the middle
• Sail on the lifted tack unless there is a clear reason to head for more wind

Source: Sailing a Smart First Beat | Sailing World

We’ll focus more on first beat strategy in future posts.