An aspiring author recently pointed out to me that, as much as he would like to include a covering letter when he submits a scholarly article to the acquisitions editor of a scientific journal, there is often no box or option in online submission forms for pasting or attaching such an introductory letter. In addition, there is often no indication of where within a manuscript submitted for consideration an author might place such a letter to introduce the research and document. The lack of obvious instructions does not necessarily mean that a covering letter cannot be included or even that the acquisitions editor does not want to read one, but it does mean that the determined author will have to devise an effective strategy to have his or her opportunity for a brief explanation to orient this all-important reader.
The first thing to do is to read all of the publisher’s instructions and guidelines for authors with your eyes alert to any information about covering letters, which may alternatively be called cover letters or introductory letters. If you discover that the journal or press specifically states that a covering letter is not wanted, do not include one. It is always best not to antagonise a busy acquisitions editor with extraneous information, and a good paper can stand on its own when necessary. If the instructions do not mention covering letters at all or suggest that a covering letter is not required but do not in any way prohibit the inclusion of one, it is usually acceptable and often helpful to send such a letter along with your submission.
However, you will need to determine exactly where and how to present your letter. It is important not to give the impression of sneaking the letter into your submission or pulling one over on an editor. Neither of these strategies is respectful or effective, but do examine online submission forms for approaches that may be. The form may not have a ‘paste your covering letter here’ box or an ‘attach your covering letter here’ option (though it may, so keep your eyes open), but it might very well have an ‘additional information about your paper’ or even a ‘special instructions’ box that will give you an opportunity to say one or two key things about your research and manuscript. Such boxes can be used much as a covering letter would be to provide information about the importance of your work and its appropriateness for that particular journal, but do be sure to keep a close eye on word and character limits, give your statements serious thought before submitting the form and do not provide information that is explicitly prohibited.
Another option is to make your covering letter the first page of your manuscript, though special care is necessary if you decide to do this. Some journals have very strict guidelines about the content and organisation of manuscripts submitted for publication and will not tolerate additions any more than omissions. If the peer review process of the journal is blind, all personal information about you will have to be eliminated from the manuscript, and a covering letter would not be appropriate. In such cases, however, personal information is usually provided to the editor separately, and that, too, may offer an opportunity to include a brief statement akin to a covering letter, particularly if you are able to send this personal information as a separate document. If, on the other hand, all personal data must be provided through the boxes of an online form, there may be nowhere to include such information, and it will probably be better to go without a covering letter than to include one where it may cause problems. Do keep in mind, however, that an online box or other option for offering an author biography provides yet another excellent opportunity to introduce your research and manuscript briefly but effectively.
Why Our Editing and Proofreading Services?
At proofreading services we pride ourselves on the exceptionally dedicated team of academic and scientific professionals who provide our English editing and proofreading services. Our editors and proofreaders are highly educated native speakers of English who have undergone rigorous training in expert editing practices, and their fields of study and specialisation range so widely that we are able to help our clients improve and polish research manuscripts of all kinds for successful publication. Many members of our research paper editing and proofreading team focus on journal editing, manuscript editing, scientific manuscript editing, academic proofreading, academic editing, dissertation proofreading services, professional proofreading, thesis editing services and scientific proofreading, assisting authors with articles that will be submitted to scientific and academic journals by ensuring that the formatting and references in their manuscripts conform to the relevant guidelines with precision and by correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling and typing errors to enable the clear and accurate communication of original research that acquisitions editors expect in publishable papers.
Our scientific editing, medical editing, bioscience editing, life science editing, environmental science editing, pharmaceutical science editing, physical science editing, agricultural science editing, LaTeX paper editing, social science editing, political science editing, engineering paper editing, psychology editing, research paper editing, manuscript editing, humanities editing, journal article editing, biomedical science editing, planetary science editing, plant science editing, material science editing, veterinary science editing, behavioural science editing and neurosurgery editing services for authors of scientific papers and reports are especially popular, but we also excel at book editing and have the experience and expertise to proofread and edit books and papers of all kinds across every scholarly discipline. Some of our carefully trained editors and proofreaders work exclusively on PhD thesis editing, master’s dissertation proofreading, bachelor’s dissertation proofreading, thesis editing, dissertation editing, thesis proofreading and dissertation proofreading, applying their education and instructional skills in providing thesis editing and dissertation proofreading services that help advanced students to improve the formatting and language of their theses and dissertations and thereby increase their chances of degree success. Whether you are preparing a conference or class presentation, putting the final touches to a professional report for colleagues or tackling the challenging task of editing any kind of academic or scientific document for publication, a qualified member of our outstanding proofreading and editing team will be delighted to provide proofreading and editing services and boost your confidence in your written work.
If you are in the process of preparing an article for an academic or scientific journal, or planning one for the near future, you may well be interested in a new book, Guide to Journal Publication, which is available on our Tips and Advice on Publishing Research in Journals website.
We also offer the following services:
Pharmaceutical Science Editing
Social Sciences Editing Services
Bachelor’s Dissertation Editing
Dissertation Proofreading Services
editing and proofreading services
proof-reading-service.com review
academic proofreading services
proofreading and editing services
www.proof-reading-service.com review