Wear a dive mask. You can see what's going on and won't get water up your nose.

Practice your hip flick by rolling under with one hand on a dock or the pool edge (no paddle for this). If you lean way back, have a good flick, and bring your head out last it won't take much force at all.

At first, practice in shallow water. When you miss a couple of times and need a breath, you can poke the paddle into the bottom and push yourself upright. This saves a lot of time and energy over wet exiting. The bottom won't interfere with your roll; done correctly, the paddle blade stays very near the surface.

A BCU coach told me of a guy who taught himself by taping laminated copies of the instructions to his deck so he could consult them underwater. It's a lot easier to work with someone who can grab your paddle while you are under and guide you through the motions.

Don't be embarassed when you let out a big involuntary hoot when you nail your first one; seems like everybody does!