Cover Letters and Editor Communications

At selective journals an editor decides in minutes whether to send a paper to review. The cover letter is your only direct pitch: why this journal's readers need this result now. It does not summarize the abstract.

Before writing

Collect: the journal's scope/aims statement and article type; the main finding in one sentence with its key number; 1-3 recent papers in this journal your work builds on or challenges; required declarations (see the journal's guide).

Structure (one page)