Is All Writing Selling Something?
At the university, I find myself facing the brightest young lawyers – many of whom will go on to formulate policy in their home countries, many who are already active in their home countries. They are among the elite, and are probably used to it by now. So, I wonder if I am not stepping on toes by discussing copywriting, referring the early 20th century copywriter Robert Collier who flatly stated “copywriting is salesmanship in print.”
We are not selling Buicks, life insurance or vacuum cleaners here. My students work in the marketplace of ideas. No, we can’t say marketplace either, can we? They work in the world of judicial affairs and state regulation. The business of running a country. (Or is “business” too crass a word?)
The more I write, the more inescapable it seems. Even if the world of justice and law, business words creep in.
To a large degree, most writing is, in effect, a sales pitch.