Well, thank you for asking the right question first!!
Buy this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Concealed-Carry-Defense-Fundamentals-Edition/dp/1616582383 and read ALL of it carefully, and let the knowledge sink in for a while. re-read sections in the book as necessary.
This book is available at Bill's Gun Shops.
Don't know if you want to get a carry permit or not, but if you do there are plenty of people out there willing to train you. MN courses are 6 hours long, while Wisconsin courses are about half an hour long, and you learn very little, so take the MN course even if you live in Wisconsin. A LOT of the legal stuff gets covered in the MN course.
Rule #1: Beware of young Gun Store Tacticool sales people, and they will generally be more than glad to sell you whatever gets them the biggest commission and won't listen at all to your needs, if you know how to express them. They will also fill you full of BS about how gun X is the best thing ever made because they have one, and the stories get pretty amusing to us veterans who are standing by listening.
Rule #2: people in here know more than Tacticool pimply young gun salesmen for the most part, but we all have our own agenda and favorite brand of gun, and you can ask about Gun X and start a thread that turns into a running pissing match between gun owners for Brands X, Y, and Z. Sorry about that, but it happens.
Thankfully, Bill's Gun shops allow you to RENT an amazing variety of handguns, and you should
ALWAYS TRY BEFORE YOU BUY!! This may cost you some money, but it's better to spend $250 up front for renting 5 guns than buying a $600 gun first and discovering that you hate it a few months later. This problem happens a LOT, so do not cheap out in trying one and buying it rather than comparing. You will regret it.
Some people in here will be glad to meet you at a local range end let you try their gun if you seem like a safe and conscientious person, but you should buy and pay for your own ammo at the very least!
So: Read the book, absorb the knowledge, think about it, and you can watch the BS flow by in here on various guns, and just remember we all have our own favorites and endless reasons why our choice is the best.
NEVER ask a gun counter employee about advice on handguns, including Bill's. Buy the book, window shop if you want, watch people shoot, and get the f*&k back out the door!!