Actually, start priming BELOW the recommended wattage on the coils, about 5 watts if your mod goes that low, some of the higher powered ones start out at 10 watts or in that neighborhood.
If you can't start say, lower then 10, take some priming pulls without firing the mod, to wick juice into the coil. The start at your lowest, taking long slow puffs as you slowly increase wattage. I would say that going over the recommended wattage of the coil is likely to shorten its life considerably. I usually fall on the low end of things and often vape BELOW the coil's recommended wattage. I'd try to stay below it if you can.
Also keep in mind every board on each new mod is likely to have a different power conversion strategy (LOL, I don't know what else to call it, but for example my Tesla Nano Steampunk's 7 watts is usually equal to at least 9--11 on some of my other mods. So with each new device, you should be priming and playing with it, not just going on the printed recommendation, which is really an assessment of what the tank maker feels is reasonable, although you may find your perfect vape somewhere within that range, the best way to find out what is best for you is by going through the priming process... getting to where you like, maybe going a tiny bit higher but backing off if you feel it's too much.
Best of luck with it.
Anna