Shane like you I honestly have never done a burnout in my car and don't really intend to on public roads etc. I have however done around 40 passes at the drags and all I do is what MrBlonde said above.
At WSID they make you stop in the water so all I do is drop the clutch from 3,000rpm and the car skids forward abit just enough to scrub all the crap/water off the tyres. No smoke, no big black lines just fresh rubber and no water. I'm using standard 225/50/16 road tyres and about 186rwkw. I do consistent 2.1's with minimal wheelspin.
At the old Eastern Creek track all I did is roll thru the water (no burnout, nothing) and I still got consistent 2.1's on my very first night. As some of the others have mentioned above, just worry about getting to the finish line in 1 piece for your first night out. Don't worry about your reaction time, the other lane, just wait until the light goes green and drop the clutch (3-5k rpm depending on your clutch/car/traction). Even a 14sec pass is over soooo quickly I still get to the end and think "wtf I did just do for the past 14sec" because it is all over so fast.