Hilary Liftin has collaborated on sixteen New York Times bestselling books and counting.
Based in Los Angeles and Zoom-friendly, I've collaborated on memoir, inspirational self-help, and (only rarely) fiction. I ghostwrite books, I coach experienced authors, and everything in between. I work closely with my clients to capture their stories and their unique voices. You'll see from my work that I've worked with clients who are funny, thoughtful, acerbic, irreverent, brilliant, sincere, proud, and vulnerable. I love structure and see every book as a puzzle. My authors have the pieces; I help put them together. I guide my clients through the entire publishing process, and, as my authors will testify, care about every single comma. I love what I do. It's hard and fun and important. My clients have changed people's lives. I feel grateful to be a part of that. Please see collaborations for some of my projects. I've also published a few of my own (but I'm done talking about myself).
Oh, and I never miss a deadline. The only extensions I believe in are for taxes and other people's hair.
SELECTED COLLABORATIONS
Hilary Liftin collaborates with authors to write books that are true to their voices and stories. For more information see her bio.
PERSONAL PROJECTS
Movie Star
"[An] irresistable debut . . . With its sympathetic narrator, suspenseful plot pivots, snappy pace, and dishy details about Hollywood's inner workings, Liftin's compelling, highly readable novel is likely to engage even readers who remain blissfully unaware of the tabloid characters who may or may not have inspired it. Dishy Hollywood fiction at its finest. --Kirkus Reviews “With its fast pace and combination of mystery with juicy celeb details, it’s a surefire hit. Fans of the showbiz tales of Sophie Kinsella, Lauren Weisberger, and Rachel Pine will love this book. The beach read of the summer, it will keep you up long after the sun has gone down.” --Library Journal (Starred Review) Actress Lizzie Pepper was America’s Girl Next Door and her marriage to Hollywood mega-star Rob Mars was tabloid gold – a whirlwind romance and an elaborate celebrity-studded wedding landed them on the cover of every celebrity weekly. But fame, beauty, and wealth weren’t enough to keep their marriage together. Hollywood’s “It” couple are over – and now Lizzie is going to tell her side of the story. Celebrity ghostwriter Hilary Liftin chronicles the tabloids’ favorite marriage as Lizzie Pepper realizes that, when the curtain falls, her romance isn’t what she and everyone else thought. From her lonely holidays in sumptuous villas to her husband’s deep commitment to a disconcertingly repressive mind-body group, Lizzie reveals a side of fame that her fans never get to see in a story that will have every reader guessing the real-life inspirations for its players. Full of twists and turns, Movie Star by Lizzie Pepper is a breathless journey to the heights of Hollywood power and royalty and a life in the spotlight that is nearly impossible to escape.
Press
Candy and Me
As a seven-year-old child, Hilary Liftin poured herself a glass (or two) of powdered sugar. Those forbidden cups soon escalated to pound bags of candy corn and multiple packets of dry cocoa mix, launching the epic love affair between Hilary and all things sweet. In Candy and Me: A Love Story, Liftin chronicles her life through candy memories and milestones. As a high school student, Hilary used candy to get through track meets, bad hair days, after-school jobs, and her first not-so-great love. Her sweet tooth followed her to college, where she tried to suppress the crackle of Smarties wrappers in morning classes. Through life's highs and lows, her devotion has never crashed -- candy has been a constant companion and a refuge that sustained her. As Liftin recounts her record-setting candy consumption, loves and friendships unfold in a funny and heartbreaking series of bittersweet revelations and restorative meditations. Hilary survives a profound obsession with jelly beans and a camp counselor, a forgettable fling with Skittles at a dot-com, and a messy breakup healed by a friendship forged over Circus Peanuts. Through thick and thin, sweet and sour, Hilary confronts the challenges of conversation hearts and the vagaries of boyfriends, searching for that perfect balance of love and sugar. Written with a fresh dry humor that will immediately absorb you into Liftin's sweet obsessions and remind you of your own, Candy and Me unwraps the meaning found in the universal desire for connection and confection. Treat yourself to Candy and Me -- being bad never read so good.
Press
Dear Exile
A funny and moving story told through the letters of two women nurturing a friendship as they are separated by distance, experience, and time. Close friends and former college roommates, Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery promised to write when Kate's Peace Corps assignment took her to Africa. Over the course of a single year, they exchanged an offbeat and moving series of letters from rural Kenya to New York City and back again. Kate, an idealistic teacher, meets unexpected realities ranging from poisonous snakes and vengeful cows to more serious hazards: a lack of money for education; a student body in revolt. Hilary, braving the singles scene in Manhattan, confronts her own realities, from unworthy suitors to job anxiety and first apartment woes. Their correspondence tells--with humor, warmth, and vivid personal detail--the story of two young women navigating their twenties in very different ways, and of the very special friendships we are sometimes lucky enough to find.
Press
TESTIMONIALS
“Hilary was excellent in every way: indefatigable, responsive, extremely creative but unfailingly willing and able to work within the author’s voice and my structural and narrative/polemical requirements.” – Eamon Dolan, VP, Executive Editor, Simon & Schuster
“Hilary Liftin is on our very short A-list of collaborators. We know that if she’s on a project, it will be superbly written, on time, and both the client and publisher will be over the moon. Working with her is a delight.” –Jennifer Bergstrom, Publisher, Gallery Books
“Hilary is a dream collaborator. Infinitely patient, dogged, punctual, and funny. She’s a tremendous writer and incredibly fast! Why haven’t you hired her yet?” – Lauren Spiegel, Executive Editor, Gallery Books
“Hilary was an indispensable part of our writing and editorial process (and tight production schedule!). She was able to expertly navigate receiving and incorporating my edits while honoring the author’s authentic voice and intentions for the book, and the result was a bestseller everyone on our team is immensely proud of.” –Julianna Haubner, Editor, Avid Reader Press
“Working with Hilary is pure joy. We’ve collaborated on a number of projects, and I’ve always found her to be deeply invested in anything she takes on. She has this rare ability to deeply grasp any subject matter and is always prepared to take on any challenge. I love working with her!” –Jay Shetty
“Hilary Liftin is brilliant. She has an almost supernatural ability to look at a book as if it’s a puzzle to be solved and identify where pieces fit (or are missing altogether). She’s great with prose, but maybe even greater at what a good book really needs—structure. Hilary is incredibly organized, driven, collaborative, supportive. A cheerleader when she needs to be, she’s also a taskmaster in the best possible way. TREJO was an instant New York Times bestseller with Hilary’s help. After working with her, I know why she is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the business – she’s simply the best.” –Donal Logue
“Working with Hilary was the best decision I could have made. I interviewed many writers and before getting off the call I knew my connection with Hillary was something special. She made my experience as a first-time author seamless. Her ability to piece together memories and thoughts that both inspire and connect with audiences is why I can’t imagine writing another book without her. Hilary is patient, witty, and all around an incredibly skilled person to work with. Highly recommend!” –Tunde Oyeneyin
“Wise, compassionate, and indefatigable, this woman gets it done. I hope to never write another word without her. She is a godsend.” –Alisyn Camerota
“We are a true team. I don’t think there’s any kind of book we couldn’t do together. Through all of it Hilary is my rock.” –Tori Spelling
“There was something about her that just seemed so nonthreatening and so bright and so interested and just willing to learn what she didn’t know about a subject.” –Mackenzie Phillips
“Hilary Liftin is a skilled and gifted writer and a wonderful collaborator. She has that uncanny ability to take a thought, a word or a sentence fragment and to work it into strong and compelling text. I loved working with Hilary – she is witty and insightful. She loves deadlines and never misses one.” –Peter Walsh
ABOUT
Hilary Liftin is a ghostwriter/collaborator specializing in celebrity memoir. Since 2006 she has worked on more than twenty books, sixteen of which hit the New York Times bestseller list (and counting). She is proud and grateful that many of her authors have returned to do subsequent books with her. THINK LIKE A MONK by Jay Shetty, STORI TELLING by Tori Spelling, and MILES TO GO by Miley Cyrus were all #1 New York Times bestsellers. Other bestselling titles include HIGH ON ARRIVAL by Mackenzie Phillips and IT’S ALL TOO MUCH by Peter Walsh.
She has also written three books under her own name. The first, DEAR EXILE, is letters that she exchanged with her co-author, Kate Montgomery, when Kate was in the Peace Corps in Kenya and she was single in New York. It was published by Vintage in 1999 and is still in print. CANDY AND ME: A Love Story is a memoir told through different kinds of candy. MOVIE STAR BY LIZZIE PEPPER is a fictional celebrity memo. See press.
Hilary grew up in Washington, D.C. She is a graduate of Yale College, where she was editor of the Yale Literary Magazine. Before becoming a full-time writer in 2006, Hilary worked in the publishing industry for ten years, holding positions in editorial, marketing, and business development at Houghton Mifflin, Barnes & Noble.com, and the ebook division of Time Warner Books (now Hachette). She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, children, and rescue pup.
