But Vendler says she finds it difficult to form personal friendships with her assistants, partly because turnover rates tend to be high.
"One of the problems with a half-time assistant is they tend to be people en route to someone else. They are constantly leaving," Vendler says. "Then you have to train a new one. You can count on a full time person as being at least quasi-permanent."
As for Pilot, she is in Gould's office more than he is.
But Gould now lives in New York half the year, and Pilot only works part-time. She recently, semi-officially, retired, though she remains on the job to help him finish his next book.
"You can't just terminate a job like that," she insists. "It's not for the money you want to be here. It's for someone who appreciates what you do."