A cover letter for your journal article may take just a few minutes to write. Recently, I received one that likely took a few seconds:
Dear Editor,
We attach a manuscript for your consideration.
Sincerely,
The Authors
Some people may say, “Yeah, but do editors read cover letters anyway?” I even heard one author recently boast “I have never sent a cover letter and never had a problem.” Well, great. And, to be honest, there are times when I won’t look for a cover letter.
But here I want to focus on when I definitely DO look for a cover letter.
As co-Editor-in-Chief of a Q1 journal, I am acutely aware of the potential power I yield. [Insert Spider-Man quote here.] Obviously, most authors who submit their manuscripts to us have invested a great deal of time in their research and writing. (I see it first hand as Faculty Writing Coach.) Rejecting a manuscript at the submission stage, known as a desk rejection, is therefore unfortunate. Yet it is equally undesirable to assign a manuscript – the relevance of which I am uncertain about – to an associate editor who, trusting my assessment that the manuscript is relevant to the journal, will dedicate considerable time and energy to secure a sufficient number of external expert reviewers. Further, those same reviewers will spend what amounts to unremunerated hours of their “spare” time to read and provide feedback on that manuscript.
In short, as EiC, I had better be confident that I am sending on something worthwhile. If, at a glance (e.g., in the title, abstract), I do not see how your manuscript lies within the scope of the journal, I will look to see if there is some explanation of why the authors want to publish in our journal. And where would be the most logical place to find that? Yup: the cover letter.
The rather gaunt letter at the top of this post was one that I looked for in that precise scenario. The topic of the manuscript seemed to lie outside or, at best, at the outer perimeter of our journal scope. In that particular case, there actually was a cover letter! But, as written, it did not do what it could have done, which is prevent a desk rejection.
So how could it have (maybe) prevented that rejection? Here is what I like to see in a cover letter:
- Say my name: Sure, call it vanity. But when an author writes “Dear Dr. Martinez,” it says to me that the submitting author has specifically chosen this journal. Writing “Dear Editor” may raise the suspicion that our journal is one of multiple. Make us feel special.
- Say what: Give me your title, what category of manuscript type (e.g., “Original Research,” “Brief Report”) you are submitting, and a few words of what it’s about – focusing especially on its novelty/contribution to the discipline. But the next point is even more important.
- Say why: Tell me your thinking behind choosing our journal. Why do you think it’s a good fit? Try to be specific.
There are other items that can go in a cover letter, such as a statement of originality and a list of potential reviewers, but the above are components that I see as especially important in that moment when I am deciding if a manuscript should proceed.
Here is a fictitious example of what that could look like:
Dear Dr. Martinez,
We are submitting an Original Research paper entitled “The Effect of Poorly Crafted Cover Letters on Editorial Decisions,” which uncovers for the first time the thought processes of journal editors as they read cover letters. We see the article as a good fit for the Journal of Scholarly Miscellanea because of the recent trend, as reported in the journal, of questioning the relevance of cover letters.
We declare that there is no conflict of interest and…
Far be it from me to prescribe the above as a formula for success. But let’s just say that if a similar letter had been included instead of that one I posted earlier, the manuscript may have enjoyed a longer stay in our editorial system.
The thing to remember is that while the relevance of your manuscript may seem totally obvious to you, don’t assume the editor will immediately see it too. A cover letter should just take a few minutes to write, after all. (But, please, not a few seconds!)
By the way, if you are faculty at the University of Oklahoma, I encourage you to run your cover letters by me. (Book time with me here.) I promise you won’t receive a rejection from my desk.
