I'm already working enough

[Mr. Rager!]

A few months ago, I helped this gentleman save his manuscript on this book he had been working on for about 8 years. He was very, very grateful and would come to me for advice on a lot of things. This went on for about 3 weeks.

After a few months, I hadn't seen him so I figured everything was just fine.

Today he comes to tell me that his manuscript has been accepted for publishing and that he wanted to hire me as a consultant to help him do theformatting for the documents. This isn't the first time he's offered to hire me.

There's really no point to this. I gave him my cell phone number and told him that I would try and get a hold of someone that could help him, but I already had two jobs plus I was going to school full-time. So there was no way I'd have the time to help him get his manuscript publisher ready.

Of course, this is where you guys might come in. Does anyone know of anything that someone can send their work into to be formatted correctly? He has very specific page layout specifications that need to be met.

[Sheldonrs]

Is this what you are looking for?

http://www.self-pub.net/layout/

[Broomjockey]

If he can provide the specifications, then any freelance editor who does copywriting or proofreading work can do it. Depending on the length of the manuscript, it could cost him around $500, also depending on things like just how much work has to be done on it, and how busy the editor is. That's actually probably his best best, as a proofreader deals with formatting for a living, and so would be good at catching everywhere it needs to be changed.

[Kogarashi]

Dang, this reminds me that I need to work some more on keeping my skills polished. My undergrad degree is in English with an emphasis on editing.

No, I'm not suggesting myself. Not enough work experience. But a freelance editor would most likely be his best bet. He can probably ask his agent (if he has one) for recommendations, or look through local classifieds or online ads/lists. Just make sure he knows to not go with any editors with suspicious fees or similar stipulations. Some unscrupulous types charge in advance for crappy work.

Maybe I can find those SFWA guidelines I saw somewhere.... At least, I think it was SFWA.