Writing the cover letter

The cover letter, also called the submission letter, travels with a manuscript to the journal. It makes the case for publishing the paper in that journal and carries the information and declarations the journal expects to find with it.

Whether the journal asks for a letter

A submission letter provides information about the paper and about its authors. ¹ One guide holds that it should accompany every manuscript, from a research report to a letter to the editor. ¹ Another notes that a journal sometimes requests a cover letter, and that the specifications for it are usually in the instructions for authors. ² Not every journal requires a separate letter: The New England Journal of Medicine offers a text box in its online submission instead, into which the information can be typed or pasted from a letter already written, and which can be left blank. ¹

The case for the paper

The letter is the author's chance to convince the editor that the work should be published in their journal. ³ Among the information to include in it are answers to two questions: why this journal, and why now. ⁴ A good cover letter can give the scientific background to the study, a summary of the content of the paper, explicit details of what is new in it, and an explanation of why that new information is important. ⁴ A perfunctory letter that only offers the article for consideration, hopes the editor will deem it of an appropriate scope and standard for the journal, and looks forward to feedback contains none of this. ⁴ Writing cover letters can be a hassle, and the result is often uninspiring. ⁵

The letter should say why the manuscript is important and interesting. ² It should also say why the manuscript is a good fit for the journal. ² It is a good idea to explain why the work suits that journal rather than any other. ³ An author approaching a general international medical journal, for example, could explain why it is more appropriate than a more specialised local journal, or that, because of its topic, the work may appeal to a wider audience than a more specialist publication attracts. ³

A specimen letter's introduction builds to the clinical or other problem the study addresses, and argues that the journal's readers will be interested because the authors' review of the papers the journal had published in the past three years found no report on medications for the condition, which also has no standard of care. ⁶ Its introduction closes with the unique or incremental value of the study, and there it also states that the 12-week study could not assess long-term safety, which an ongoing 52-week extension trial is considering. ⁷

In one curriculum for publication writers, highlighting the importance of the study is one way the writer improves a cover letter's text and tone. ⁸ A guide for clinicians, however, advises against using the letter to tell the editor that the paper is a very important one, because editors look at many articles and can recognise the important ones, especially with the advice of peer reviewers. ⁹

The opening and the close

The letter should be addressed to the journal editor, by name, with the title of the paper identified just before the salutation. ¹ Its introductory paragraph should identify the accompanying manuscript and indicate that it is submitted to be considered for publication. ^{1, 10} In some instances it should also identify the type of paper, such as a report of original research, a brief report or a case report. ¹ The letter should give the number of words in the manuscript. ¹

The letter should thank the editor for considering the manuscript for publication. ¹ A specimen letter closes by expressing the authors' keen interest in the journal's review of the manuscript and its disposition, and by thanking the editors and referees in advance for reviewing the work. ¹¹

Authors and correspondence

Many journals ask the letter to describe each author's specific contribution to the research and writing, such as recruiting the subjects, collecting data, providing statistical analysis or editing the manuscript. ¹ The letter should state that the authors meet the criteria for authorship and that all of them have read and approved the manuscript. ^{1, 12, 13} All authors must approve the submission letter itself. ¹ Statements in the letter can acknowledge the efforts of contributors. ⁸ A specimen letter states that a company funded professional-writing support by a writer who did not meet the ICMJE authorship criteria and is named in the manuscript's acknowledgments. ¹³

The letter should identify the one author who will respond to correspondence and deal with editorial issues before publication, and give their full contact details. ^{1, 14, 11} One guide adds that this author can answer questions about the study. ¹ Email is usually the preferred route for correspondence. ¹⁴ It is useful to name an author who will coordinate the authors' public responses to readers' comments on and questions about the published work. ¹⁴

Competing interests and research ethics

The letter can include statements declaring competing interests. ⁸ It should describe any industry sponsorship of the study, contractual agreements with industry, consulting or speaking agreements, or even stock ownership if there might be a perceived conflict of interest. ¹

A specimen letter states that the study was conducted in accordance with Good Clinical Practices and ethical tenets originating in the Declaration of Helsinki, that every participant gave written informed consent before any study assessment or treatment, that local institutional review boards reviewed and approved the protocol and the consent document, and that the study was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as §801 of the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 requires. ¹⁵ It also states that all authors had access to the study data and protocols and take full responsibility for the integrity of the analysis and the report, and that the company that supported them financially and the authors' financial disclosures are given on the title page. ¹⁵ Its signatory declares being a major stockholder, with more than $10,000 in equity, in that company. ¹⁵

Prior publication and copyright

The letter should state that the contents of the paper have not been published previously and that the manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere. ^{1, 13} Journals normally require the letter to state that the manuscript has not been published and is not under review elsewhere. ² The letter should state if an abstract has been presented at a scientific meeting. ¹ A specimen letter states that selected data were presented at a congress, but that the findings were not published in congress proceedings. ¹³ The letter should name any other manuscript, submitted previously by the authors or by another author and perhaps already published, that may be regarded as redundant in light of this one. ¹⁶ Copies of those papers should also be submitted with it for the editor to consider. ¹⁶

Many journals insist that the cover letter relinquish copyright if the article is published, and the journal's instructions to authors say whether this is needed in the letter and, if so, the exact wording to use. ¹ A specimen letter states that the manuscript does not infringe existing copyright or third-party rights. ¹³

Reviewers

The letter can suggest possible reviewers. ⁸ A specimen recommends two individuals it describes as independent and unbiased, naming each with their position, institution and email address. ¹⁷ Special requests are best avoided, but in cutting-edge scientific research there may be a valid reason to ask that a certain individual not be used as a peer reviewer. ¹ The specimen names a professor conducting research on a competing therapy who, in the authors' opinion, would not be a disinterested reviewer. ¹⁷

Shortening the paper

Scientific research papers are often too long to be printed in their entirety, and after accepting one the editor may choose to shorten it to a review. ¹⁸ It is very useful to the editor or reviewers if the letter pre-empts this by suggesting ways of shortening the paper: tables or graphs that could be removed, appendices that could be omitted, or references that could be prioritised. ¹⁸ Some journals publish some sections of a paper online and give a reference to them in the printed journal. ¹⁸

Length and stock phrases

The letter, and the explanations and reasons in it, should be clear and concise. ^{2, 3} Journal editors may read dozens of cover letters a day and skim over any longer than a few paragraphs. ²

Phrases one medical writing course offers for a cover letter include:

• We are pleased to submit this manuscript to be considered for publication in…
• We used state-of-the-art techniques…
• This work dramatically alters our current concepts of…
• As far as we are aware, this is the first study…
• Unexpectedly…
• However, we do not consider these to be "negative" data…
• This manuscript is original work, has not been published before, and is not being considered for publication elsewhere either in printed or electronic form.
• Thank you for considering our paper for publication.
• We look forward to hearing from you.

^{5, 19}

A checklist for the whole letter

One course's guidelines for a cover letter are:

• Keep it short and simple (max one page).
• Present the submission.
• Set the context and describe the current state of the field.
• Identify the knowledge gap.
• Describe the problem and how it was solved.
• Highlight the novelty and relevance for readers of the journal.
• State that the manuscript is not being considered for publication elsewhere.
• Suggest experts in the field qualified to carry out the review.

^{20, 21}