the subject in this chapter_

* * * * *

An architect can sit down and design your house on paper, showing
its exact proportions, the finish of every room, the location of
every door and window. He can give specific instructions for
building your house but before you can begin operations you have got
to get together the brick and mortar and lumber--all the material
used in its construction.

And so the correspondent-architect can point out the way to write a
letter: how to begin, how to work up interest, how to present
argument, how to introduce salesmanship, how to work in a clincher
and how to close, but when you come to writing the letter that
applies to your particular business you have first to gather the
material. And just as you select cement or brick or lumber according
to the kind of house you want to build, so the correspondent must
gather the particular kind of material he wants for his letter,
classify it and arrange it so that the best can be quickly selected.

The old school of correspondents--and there are many graduates still
in business--write solely from their own viewpoint. Their letters
are focused on "our goods," "our interests" and "our profits." But
the new school of letter writers keep their own interests in the
background. Their sole aim is to focus on the viewpoint of the
reader; find the subjects in which he is interested, learn the
arguments that will appeal to him, bear down on the persuasion that
will induce him to act at once.