On writers' persistance: Believe in yourself, don't give up, especially after rejection
- Sheelagh Caygill
- 4 days ago
- 6 min read
A multiple award-winning teacher and writer, Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli was born in Calabria, Italy, and immigrated to Canada with her family at three years of age. Her latest book is Product of Italy, Made in Canada: An Immigrant’s Love Letter to Food, Family, and Resilience (October 18, 2025 release, Latitude 46 Publishing). Her novel La Brigantessa (Inanna Publications, 2018) was awarded a 2019 Gold IPPY Award for Historical Fiction, and was a finalist for two Canadian Literary Awards in 2019. Pigeon Soup and Other Stories (Inanna, 2021) was honoured as a Finalist in the Fiction: Short Story category of the 2021 American BookFest Best Book Awards. An alumna of the Humber School for Writers, Rosanna has been published in more than 20 anthologies and journals and has read at many conferences and literary events in Canada, New York, and Italy.
Rosanna is a professional member of the Writers’ Union of Canada, the Canadian Authors Association, the Association of Italian-Canadian Writers, the Toronto Romance Writers, and CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers). Along with writing historical fiction, short fiction, and creative non-fiction, Rosanna has six romance novels published with Harlequin/Mills & Boon and two children’s books published with Pajama Press. Rosanna lives in Sudbury, Ontario. Here, Rosanna desribes her first few years in school and how she became an early lover of books, what influenced her to write, her favourite authors, and her advice to writers. Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli on writers' persistance: Believe in yourself, don't give up!
Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli on writers' persistance: Believe in yourself, don't give up
OCW: What life experiences have shaped your writing style?
RMB: I loved books and reading in my early school years. I had immigrated to Canada from Italy with my family when I was three and didn’t know any English when I started kindergarten. But I was a quick learner and by grade two, I was enjoying reading very much, and looking forward to our school library visits. As the years progressed, I read everything I could, and often brought home a dozen books every week from our neighbourhood library (which was actually a bookmobile—a transport truck that was so fascinating to me). When I enjoyed a book, I sought out all the other books written by that author.
Over the years, I read the classics, fairy tale collections, mysteries, historical fiction, romances. I loved the Anne of Green Gables books, Freddy the Pig series, Danny Dunn series, Sue Barton Student Nurse Series, Harlequin romances, books by Phyllis A. Whitney, Victoria Holt, Catherine Cookson, to name a few.
I read the “Adventure” series by British author Enid Blyton and was probably around 12-14 when I decided I wanted to write an adventure story like hers. I remember writing some preliminary details (characters’ names, etc.) but I don’t know where those notes went. In my twenties (after I began my teaching career), I decided to write a romance, having read many Harlequin romances, and then I started two others. (Little did I know that decades later, I would write six romances for Harlequin!).
In my thirties I was captivated by books that dealt with my Italian (and Calabrian) heritage, and I decided I wanted to bring some of the turbulent post-unification history to life in my own novel. Many years of research and writing resulted in the publication of La Brigantessa. And throughout the last almost 30 years, I’ve written stories based on my life experiences: the impact of the death of my 17-year-old sister when I was 15; my father’s journey with Parkinson’s; my memories of growing up Italian-Canadian; the challenges of dealing with these two identities.
In a nutshell, I believe that immigration, my heritage, my language experiences, the losses I’ve dealt with, my love of books and reading, and teaching, and my involvement with writing groups/communities have all contributed to influence/shape my writing style(s).
Writing evolution and professional development
OCW: Has your writing evolved over the years? If so, how? Through writing experience? Reading a lot? Writing courses or communities? A combination, or something else?
RMB: While I was teaching, which was a passion for me, I also did everything I could to invest in myself as a writer. In 1991 I took a writing course offered by a woman—Vicki Gilhula—who eventually started the Sudbury Writers’ Guild in 1992, which I immediately joined. Over the years, I attended writing workshops and conferences, wrote stories (for children and adults) and entered writing contests. I continued to be an avid reader of different genres, and I also started reading many dozens of books about the art and craft of writing. I worked on a novel and was accepted in a correspondence (mentorship) course at the Humber School for Writers in Toronto with award-winning writer Richard Scrimger. A few years later, I stayed in Toronto for a week to do an intensive “Writing for Young Readers” course, and my mentor was again, Richard Scrimger.
I had also joined the Canadian Authors Association (Toronto Branch) in the early 90s and in 2001-02, as President of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild (SWG), I helped organize the CAA’s 81st Annual Conference in Sudbury, which we called the “Northern Ink” Conference. Having acclaimed author Nino Ricci lead a critique session for the SWG in 2006, I continued to make strides in my work-in-progress. I finally completed the third draft of my historical novel in 2012, and I arranged to have a professional evaluation of my manuscript with fabulous historical fiction/thriller author Barbara Kyle, whose insights and suggestions helped me with the next draft. I continued to take in workshops in and beyond Sudbury, such as one in Parry Sound led by award-winning Joseph Kertes, founder of the Humber School for Writers, and a week-long “Writers’ Camp” with two-time Giller Prize nominee Gail Anderson-Dargatz in Providence Bay, Manitoulin Island in 2015.
I continued to build friendships with writers at conferences in Sudbury, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Winnipeg, and also in New York and several cities in Italy. My involvement with fellow writers in the SWG, the CAA, TWUC (The Writers’ Union of Canada), the AICW (Association of Italian Canadian Writers) and CANSCAIP (Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators, and Performers has been instrumental in my growth as a writer. When you spend many, many years reading and writing, and learning from emerging and established writers, your writing definitely evolves.
OCW: Which authors and/or types of books do you like to read?
RMB: I am an avid and eclectic reader. I love historical fiction, literary fiction, short fiction, romance fiction, non-fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Along with loving Canadian fiction . . . too many authors and author friends to mention, I also have some favourite Italian, American, and international authors: Alessandro Baricco, Domenico Starnone, Elizabeth Strout, Marilynne Robinson, Geraldine Brooks, Colm Tóibín . . .
And I love reading books by accomplished authors about the art and craft of writing (the following are in no particular order): everything by Julia Cameron; The Anatomy of Story by John Truby; A Passion for Narrative by Jack Hodgins; Page-Turner: Your Path to Writing a Novel That Publishers Want and Readers Buy by Barbara Kyle; Write Away by Elizabeth George; The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler, to name a few. I also read books about nurturing your creativity: Breathing the Page: Reading the Act of Writing by Betsy Warland; Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write by Gayle Brandeis; What We Ache For: Creativity and the Unfolding of your Soul: by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
OCW: If you’ve been published, how did you find your first publisher?
RMB: My first short story was published in a Canadian Authors Association Toronto Branch Anthology in 1997 (I’ve been a member of the Toronto Branch since the early 1990s) and since then I’ve been published in more than 20 anthologies, but my first book publisher was Harlequin/Mills & Boon UK. Here is a link to how that came about: https://www.writeforharlequin.com/getting-the-call-meet-rosanna-battigelli/.
Writing evolution and professional development
OCW: What advice/guidance would you give to writers?
RMB: This is my bundle of advice I always share with aspiring and emerging writers: Read a lot, write a lot, allow yourself to write crap (a tip from two-time Giller Prize nominee Gail Anderson-Dargatz, whose week-long Writers’ Camp I participated in in July, 2015.
Also, read a lot about the art and craft of writing, believe in yourself, don’t give up, especially after you get a rejection of your story or work. Set goals, get into a writing group, go to writing conferences, work with a mentor at some point, be persistent.
This is the epigraph that I have at the beginning of my historical novel La Brigantessa: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” (Lao Tzu) Take one step and then another and then another. Sometimes you might feel that you’re going backwards, but you’ll get back on track. Keep writing and your goals will be reached!
Writers need ways to nurture their soul as a creative writer. Along with enjoying cooking, travelling and nature, I get inspired by plays, great films, musical performances, etc. Find ways of recharging so your desire to write and create stays strong!