About Me

Chretien Wordsmithery, LLC, is owned by Elisabeth Chretien.

With over fifteen years of editing experience at the University of Iowa Press, the University of Nebraska Press, and as a freelance editor, Elisabeth Chretien is passionate about helping authors find their voice and tell the very best stories they can. Each person’s story is unique and important, and she loves being able to help authors realize their publishing dreams, whether that is self-publishing or publishing with a traditional press.

Some of Elisabeth's notable titles include:

New York Times bestseller A Wrestling Life: The Inspiring Stories of Dan Gable by Dan Gable and Scott Schulte
How to Say "F— Your Mother" in Chinese: A Teacher's Guide by Jenna Orkin, winner of the 2022 Memoir Magazine Prize in the categories of Teaching and Immigrant Experience and a finalist in the 2022 International Book Awards in the Nonfiction: Cross-Genre category
Pandora's Lockbox: An Award-winning Real Estate Agent’s Memoir of Love, Sex, Murders, and an Alligator by Nico Griffith, 2022 Nonfiction Book Awards Gold Winner
Love, Life, and Lucille: Lessons Learned from a Centenarian by Judy Gaman, 2020 CIBA Hearten Book Awards Grand Prize Winner, 2020 International Book Awards Finalist in Best New Non-Fiction, 2020 Readers' Favorite Honorable Mention in Non-Fiction: Women's, 2021 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Silver Winner in Autobiography & Memoir, and 2021 NYC Big Book Awards Winner in Friendship
Instant Amazon bestseller Spirit of a Hummingbird: Memories from a Childhood on the Run by Felicia Thai Heath
Tales from an Uncertain World: What Other Assorted Disasters Can Teach Us About Climate Change by L.S. Gardiner, third place in the nonfiction category of the 2019 Indie Book Awards
The Rainy Season: Three Lives in the New South Africa by Maggie Messitt, long-listed for the 2015 Sunday Times Alan Paton Award for Non-Fiction in South Africa and the 2015 Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award
Running to the Fire: An American Missionary Comes of Age in Revolutionary Ethiopia by Tim Bascom, long-listed for the 2015 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award

Elisabeth holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in English literature from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and a copyediting certificate from the University of California - San Diego. She loves coffee, and her overly involved black cat approves all of her edits before they are returned to the author. She is always excited to talk about story structure and copyright law. She currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa, home of the Iowa Writer's Workshop.