You can start working on your titles now and enter them later into the HoM once you able to merge EotN into your account. No progress will be lost.
But depending on what kind of experience you want out of the game, you may want to get EotN as soon as possible for the PvE skills and Heroes that it can bring.
Getting to 30/50 points on HoM before GW2 comes out is possible. There are already several guides/posts on the Guru forums on how to do this. There is a more formal/summery guide of the steps involved on the wiki
here.
The "story books" are somewhat optional in terms of getting titles into your HoM. Story books merely earn you experience/points/gold, a way of tracking your progress in various parts of the game, but really not required for game play.
Levelling your char(s) shouldn't be a problem, though if you want an easier, quicker time in getting through the game you will want to get weapons and armour with max rating. The wiki also has tips and guides on playing your profession. And unless it is the Legendary Defender of Ascalon title, you will likely already have levelled your char long before you even get started on your 30 points. But if you are looking for a levelling guide the closest thing could be any of the Survivor guides out there.
If your primary concern/goal in the game is getting 30/50 on the HoM you may want to spend real money on the various skill packs via the Online Store. This will come in handy when equipping your heroes' skill-bars without the need to run around purchasing or skill-capping the skills for them.
Heroes—you may find yourself spending about 80% of your in-game time running around with just your heroes. Most veteran players have a favourite “team build” that they play and so will spec their heroes skillbars/weapons/runes towards that team build. Having a “perfect” hero team build will allow you to easily breeze through the Cartographer, Vanquisher, Protector, and Guardian titles.
Some links....
-----------
Quick access links
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Quick_access_links
Quick access links on unofficial wiki
http://www.guildwiki.org/Quick_access_links
Titles
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Titles
Guide to earning Hall of Monuments rewards
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Guide...uments_rewards
Guide for the new impatient player to quick HoM farm
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/g...t10489259.html
Guide to 30/50 HoM points
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/g...t10497824.html
-----------
Profession guides
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Categ...fession_guides
Profession guides on unofficial wiki
http://www.guildwiki.org/Category:Profession_guides
Secondary Profession combinations
http://www.guildwiki.org/Category:Pr...n_combinations
Where to level to 20
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/w...t10499963.html
Your favorite Start Up Routine for New Characters
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/y...t10479392.html
Survivor
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Survivor
Player Builds
http://www.gwpvx.com/Category:Meta_w...general_builds
-----------
Basic Guide to Using Heroes
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/b...t10293264.html
Hero Builds
http://www.gwpvx.com/Category:Meta_working_hero_builds
3 Hero Discordway
http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:Team_-_3_Hero_Discordway
7 Hero Player Support
http://www.gwpvx.com/Build:Team_-_7_Hero_Player_Support
-----------
Armorer
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Armorer
Fast and Cheap Max Items
http://www.guildwarsguru.com/forum/f...t10499204.html
Collector armor
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Category:Collector_armor
Collector weapon
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Collector_weapon
Unique item (Greens)
http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Unique_item