i'm helping a friend with their PhD dissertation.  need ideas on how
to make it as easy as possible. have found coaches and writers on the
'net, but have never used such services before. comments? advice?

Here are some resources that might make this process a bit easier for
the both of you.
As far as writers, coaches, and editors are concerned, whether or not
your friend will benefit from such services depends on your friends
skill as a writer, familiarity of the the process, and stress load. If
your friend feels that he/she might benefit from
a writing service, or perhaps just a bit of editing help, my
suggestion is shop around. Choose someone who has
experience, and ideally, would offer a money back guarantee.
Some other things I have included are links to various books on the
subject of writing dissertations, as well as some
places that make dissertation writing software. There are also lots of
resources here that offer everything from just
"survival tips", to laying out the procedure step by step.

Good luck to you and your friend!
chellphill-ga

Thesis and Dissertation resources, services, abstracts, online papers,
coaches and consultants:
http://www.dissertationwriting.com/
A network of thesis and dissertation advisors, writing instructors,
and academic editing professionals

http://www.dissertationsandtheses.com/
A searchable database of  research papers.
"Our extensive website  proudly lists more than 25,000 quality
research papers, experimental studies, and even examples of entire
theses to download, study from, and cite in the body of your own
thesis or dissertation!"

http://www.dissertations.com/
Offers Dissertation consulting and coaches,  review of literature and
research.

http://www.dissertation-writing-help.com/
Free Dissertation writing help.
Lists link to others sites offering things such as "how to's", tips,
resources, and some pay services.

http://www.doctoral-dissertations.com/
Professional Coaching and Editing for Doctoral Students
Offers a free dissertation outline
(http://www.doctoral-dissertations.com/page5.html), as well as APA
formatting and style hints, along with  editing, feedback, and other
pay services.

http://www.dissertation-abstracts-online.com/
Free dissertation abstracts online.

http://is2.dal.ca/~dts/
The Dead Thesis Society
e-mail support forum for graduate students.

http://www.citationonline.net/survdiss.htm
Dissertation tips

http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/dec/essay.dissertation.html
How to write a dissertation

http://gradschool.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ems.uq.edu.au%2Fphdweb%2Ffr_phfaq.html
Dissertation FAQ

http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/tld/student/7steps/dissertation.htm
7 steps to writing a dissertation.


Books:
http://www.cs.umb.edu/~eb/joan/diss15/index.html
Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day, Joan Bolker, Ed.D.

http://www.barronseduc.com/0812098005.html
WRITING THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION, 2ND EDITION

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0803966784/qid=1049758080/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-2556165-9308047
Writing the Winning Dissertation : A Step-by-Step Guide,  Allan A.
Glatthorn

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374524777/qid=1049758080/sr=1-5/ref=sr_1_5/002-2556165-9308047?v=glance&s=books
Getting What You Came for: The Smart Student's Guide to Earning a
Master's or a Ph.D, Robert L. Peters



Thesis and Dissertation Software:
http://www.elfin.com/home.htm
Makers of the software packages "Thesis, Dissertation Writer" and "APA
Reference Writer"

http://www.elfinpublishing.com/main.asp
Thesiswriter XP

http://www.perrla.com/
APA format software template that operates with Microsoft Word 97 for
Windows and higher

http://www.scholarsaid.com/
Manages your bibliography, converts any bibliographical entries into 
footnotes, and insert footnotes into your document automatically

Depending on which format is to be used, you might be able to benefit
from these,
Thesis/Dissertation Templates and Forms:
http://www.oit.umass.edu/hds/docs/thesis/index.html
http://web.reed.edu/academic/thesis/#templates
http://www.ensc.sfu.ca/grad/theses/tips.html
http://etd.circa.ufl.edu/support.html

Misc. Links:
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/6007/Survival.htm
Graduate Student Survival kit.

http://www.civil.iitb.ac.in/~rsashu/online_resources.html
Online thesis/software archives

http://www.360-thesis-writing.com/sps/Resource/C2-360-thesis-writing.htm
Misc links on writing dissertations.

very thorough. thanks.