Patricia Lee Gauch: a class act

Carole Estby Dagg sent along this anecdote and I had to share:

Anyone who attended last fall’s Weekend on the Water knows what an inspiring teacher Patricia Lee Gauch is. I received evidence yesterday that she is also one of the most conscientious editors on the planet. Three years after submitting a query and chapter to her, I received a two-page hand-written note and my chapter back with another half-page of her suggestions, sent from her home address. The submission had somehow gone astray and in cleaning out her office (she’s leaving Philomel next month) she ran across it. On retirement, most editors would have probably moved all their stacks to someone else’s desk or upended their drawers into a dumpster. Not Patricia Lee Gauch. I’m relieved to hear she will still be teaching.