RRAY SUID (Palo Alto, California)

#Writer, works for EDVantage Software, an Internet company specialized in
educational software

Murray Suid lives in Palo Alto (California), in the heart of the Silicon Valley.
He writes educational books (e.g., Ten-Minute Grammar Grabbers), books for kids
(e.g., The Kids' How to Do Almost Everything Guide), multimedia scripts (e.g.,
The Writing Trek), and screenplays (e.g., Summer of the Flying Saucer -- to be
produced by Magma Films, Ireland).

*Interview of September 7, 1998

= How did using the Internet change your professional life?

Professionally, the Internet has become my major research tool, largely -- but
not entirely -- replacing the traditional library and even replacing
person-to-person research. Now, instead of phoning people or interviewing them
face to face, I do it via e-mail. Because of speed, it has also enabled me to
collaborate with people at a distance, particularly on screenplays. (I've worked
with two producers in Germany.) Also, digital correspondence is so easy to store
and organize, I find that I have easy access to information exchanged this way.
Thus, e-mailing facilitates keeping track of ideas and materials.

The Internet has increased my correspondence dramatically. Like most people, I
find that e-mail works better than snail mail. My geographic range of
correspondents has also increased -- extending mainly to Europe. In the old
days, I hardly ever did transatlantic pen-palling. I also find that e-mailing is
so easy, I am able to find more time to assist other writers with their work --
a kind of a virtual writing group. This isn't merely altruistic. I gain a lot
when I give feedback. But before the Internet, doing so was more of an effort.

= How do you see the relationship between the print media and the Internet?

For one thing, the Internet serves other print media. My recently published
book, The Kids' How to Do (Almost) Everything Guide, would probably not have
been done prior to the invention of e-mail because it would have cost too much
in money/time to locate the experts. So the Internet is a powerful research tool
for writers of books, articles, etc.

Also, in a time of great change, many "facts" don't stay factual for long. In
other words, many books go quickly out of date. But if a book can be web
extended (living partly in cyberspace), then an author can easily update and
correct it, whereas otherwise the author would have to wait a