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How to write a cover letter for journal submission

Download our cover letter template.

When you submit your article to a journal, you often need to include a cover letter. This is a great opportunity to highlight to the journal editor what makes your research new and important. The cover letter should explain why your work is perfect for their journal and why it will be of interest to the journal’s readers.

When writing for publication, a well-written cover letter can help your paper reach the next stage of the manuscript submission process – being sent out for  peer review . So it’s worth spending time thinking about how to write a cover letter to the journal editor, to make sure it’s going to be effective.

To help you, we’ve put together a guide to explain how to write a cover letter for journal article submission. You will receive cover letter instructions of what you should include and what you shouldn’t, and a word template cover letter.

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What should my cover letter include?

Before you start to write, please check the  instructions for authors  (IFAs) of your chosen journal, as not all journals will require one. You should also check the IFAs for any journal specific information on what to include. This may include a list of relevant articles written by you or your co-authors that have been or are currently being considered for publication in other journals.

Key points to include in your letter to the editor:

Editor’s name (you can usually find this on the journal page on  Taylor & Francis Online ).

Your manuscript’s title.

Name of the journal you are submitting to.

Statement that your paper has not been previously published and is not currently under consideration by another journal.

Brief description of the research you are reporting in your paper, why it is important, and why you think the readers of the journal would be interested in it.

Contact information for you and any  co-authors .

Confirmation that you have no  competing interests  to disclose.

Things to avoid:

Don’t copy your abstract into your cover letter, instead explain in your own words the significance of the work, the problem that is being addressed, and why the manuscript belongs in the journal.

Don’t use too much jargon or too many acronyms, keep language straightforward and easy to read.

Avoid too much detail – keep your cover letter to a maximum of one page, as an introduction and brief overview.

Avoid any spelling and grammar errors and ensure your letter is thoroughly proofed before submitting.

Click to enlarge your PDF on key information to include in your cover letter .

Cover letter template

If you need further help to write a cover letter for a journal, you can download and use our sample template as a guide.

You might find that the submission system for your chosen journal requires your cover letter to be submitted into a text box rather than as a separate document, but it is still a good idea to write a draft first to make sure you have included everything.

Always make sure to check the journal’s  instructions for authors  for any specific additional information to include.

Submission ready

Use our submission checklist  to make sure you’ve included everything you need to.

If you need more guidance, take a look at our other  information and resources to help you make your submission .

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Consider the Taylor & Francis Rapid Technical Review service to help you meet your deadline, through peer-review-like comments on your manuscript.

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How to Write a Cover Letter for Your Manuscript? Here are the Tips and Examples

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Table of Contents

A cover letter is often the first thing an editor reads when reviewing your submission. As your first pitch to the editor, the cover letter helps them gauge the suitability of your manuscript for publication in their journal. Imagine your work shaping the future of your field, gathering citations, and sparking discussions. A powerful cover letter is thus the first step to making that vision into a reality.   

In this article, we will guide you through the process of writing an effective cover letter and explain how you can get it right every time with examples. First, let us get started with the basics!  

Getting the Basics Right  

When writing a cover letter, it is crucial to address the editor by their correct and complete name¹ . If there are multiple co-editors, you can address your letter to the right person, based on their specialization or designated responsibilities. If unsure, it is okay to go with a more general salutation, such as “Dear Editors”¹ .   

Presenting your Research  

Provide a clear and concise title for your submission and specify whether it is an article, communication, review, perspective, or a manuscript belonging to some other category. If the journal guideline recommends, consider including a list of all authors in the manuscript.   

After covering the preliminary information, briefly explain your paper’s central theme or focus to give the editor an idea of its contents. Ensure this stays a brief outline, without going into too much detail.   

Conveying the Importance of Your Work  

How you communicate the impact of your work can make or break your cover letter. To make a strong impression on the editor, articulate the significance of your research clearly, emphasizing its relevance to the field. Additionally, show how your work aligns with the journal’s scope and mission.  

Including a Formal Declaration  

Some journals require a set of declarations from you to ensure that your manuscript adheres to its ethical code and the larger ethical standards of scientific publishing. Here are the required declarations in a cover letter:  

• Originality of work:  
• Confirm that your work is original and has not been published elsewhere. This tells the editor your research is unique.  
• Conflict of interest statement:  
• Be clear about any potential conflicts of interest. This includes any personal, financial, or professional connections that might affect your research.  
• Funding source (if applicable):  
• Tell where your research funding came from, if any. This includes any support or grants from organizations.   

Including Personal Suggestions for Reviewers on a Separate Page (optional)  

If there is no part of the submission process that collects researcher suggestions for reviewers, and there are special requests from the researcher for reviewers (e.g., recommending the inclusion or suggesting the exclusion of a specific reviewer, etc.), you may also make a note about this in the cover letter.  

Combining these five points, here is a good example of a cover letter for researchers’ reference:  

(This image is intended to demonstrate the norms of formatting and tone of expression in a cover letter, it is to be used only by the researcher as a reference in writing² .)  

Conclusion  

A strong cover letter can go a long way in ensuring success for researchers looking to publish their manuscripts! Your cover letter is the opening act, setting the stage for how editors perceive your manuscript. So, look at it not as just another formality but as a crucial opportunity to make a strong impression.   

Understanding what to include, what is optional, and what is best left unsaid can be tricky. That is where our team of experts at Elsevier Language Services can step in. We will provide personalized recommendations and expert guidance to help you craft a cover letter that perfectly complements your manuscript. Reach out to us today to make a great first impression and embark on a successful academic journey!  

Reference  

• Nicholas, D. (2019). How to choose a journal and write a cover letter. Saudi Journal of Anaesthesia, 13(5), 35. https://doi.org/10.4103/sja.sja_691_18  
• Loyola University Chicago. (n.d.). JCSHESA Sample Cover Letter. https://ecommons.luc.edu/jcshesa/cover_letter_template.pdf  

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• Int J Endocrinol Metab
• v.19(3); 2021 Jul

Scientific Publishing in Biomedicine: How to Write a Cover Letter?

Zahra bahadoran.

1 Nutrition and Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Parvin Mirmiran

Khosrow kashfi.

2 Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, School of Medicine, City University of New York, New York, USA

Asghar Ghasemi

3 Endocrine Physiology Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

A cover (covering) letter is a brief business letter introducing the scientific work alongside the submission process of a manuscript and is required by most scientific peer-review journals. A typical cover letter includes the name of the editor and the journal, date of submission, the characteristics of the manuscript, the importance of the work and its relevance to prospective audiences, declarations such as author agreements, conflicts of interest statement, funding source (s), and ethical statements. The letter also includes the contact information of the corresponding author (s) and may also include suggestions of potential reviewers. Spending enough time to draft an informative, comprehensive, and concise cover letter is quite worthwhile; a poorly drafted one would not persuade the editor that the submitted work is fit for publication and may lead to immediate rejection. Here, we provide a practical guide to draft a well-written, concise, and professional cover letter for a scientific medical paper.

The Cambridge dictionary defines a cover letter as “a letter that contains information about the thing it is sent with”. The cover letter is commonly known as a motivation letter submitted along with the curriculum vitae (CV) or a job application for employment ( 1 ) or academic position ( 2 ), and it is not clear why and how it was introduced into the scientific field ( 3 ). In scientific writing and publishing, a cover/covering letter is a letter to the editor’s target journal ( 4 ).

Providing a cover letter alongside the submission process is now required by most scientific journals. In fact, some high-quality and prestigious journals pay specific attention to the cover letter ( 3 ). Amongst the different steps of the publication process, the cover letter is the last step and is often overlooked ( 5 ). One of the most common complaints voiced by editors regarding submitted manuscripts is that the authors neglect to write a well-written cover letter, including a statement justifying the importance of their work ( 6 ). Missing this opportunity may have unintentional consequences, rejection without further consideration instead of being sent for external peer-review ( 5 , 6 ). Contrary to this view, some believe that the cover letter’s content overlaps with the manuscript’s abstract and gives mostly redundant information already found within the online submission system ( 3 ). The cover letter may also be a “misleading commercial advertisement” where it would not represent the content of the manuscript ( 3 ).

Although many editors may not read or seriously consider the cover letters of the submitted manuscripts ( 3 , 4 ), neglecting the importance of the cover letter may be a risk for the authors. Therefore, spending an adequate amount of time to write a coherent and persuasive cover letter is worth it. Following our previous publication on choosing a journal in a new series entitled Scientific Publishing in Biomedicine ( 7 ), here, we provided a practical guide to draft a well-written, professional, and concise cover letter needed to be accompanied by an original scientific paper, either with the initial submission or subsequently at revision/resubmitting stage. Since there are subtle differences in writing a cover letter for an original research paper versus a review article or an opinion, some points for drafting a cover letter for such papers are also discussed.

2. The Function of the Cover Letter

A cover letter is “a brief business letter”, which introduces the submitted manuscript to a prospective editor (s) ( 8 ). There are essentially two types of letters; the first is the one that is initially submitted with the manuscript (cover letter), and the second is when a revision is being submitted (revised letter). The first letter introduces the work at the initial manuscript submission ( 9 ), while the second one is needed following an invitation to revise and resubmit the manuscript. Here, the authors respond to the suggestions/criticisms of the reviewers ( 10 ). In this paper, “cover letter” and “second letter” refer to the first/submit letter and the revised letter, respectively.

A well-written cover letter is an effective tool for authors to sell their work to the journal editor and make a “good first impression”. A cover letter is a summary that highlights the main points, emphasizes the novelty, and communicates the potential implications of the submitted work ( 3 ). A cover letter allows the authors to persuade the editors regarding the novelty/originality and significance of the research in a less formal manner than in the manuscript itself ( 6 ). A well-written and informative cover letter helps the journal’s editor to be informed about the work and its significance. Regardless of the novelty and significance of the submitted manuscript, editors may miss those points without providing insights in a cover letter ( 5 ).

3. The Content of a Cover Letter

3.1. first cover letter (submit letter).

One point of view is that the cover letter’s content should be covered in the manuscript’s abstract ( 3 ). A typical cover letter includes the name of editor (s) and the journal, date of submission, the characteristics of the manuscript (i.e., title, type of the manuscript, e.g., review, original, case report), the importance of the work and its relevance to the readership of the journal, verification of the originality of the work, the authors’ confirmation that the manuscript is currently submitted only to this journal, declarations and ethical statements, suggested potential reviewers, and contact information of the corresponding author of the submitted work ( 5 , 6 ). Other manuscript characteristics, including the length and number of tables and figures, can also be indicated. If the manuscript belongs to a special issue or is being submitted upon an official invitation from the journal’s editorial office, it should also be addressed. The main contents of the first cover letter are described in Table 1 .

The most critical element of a cover letter is a “statement of novelty/significance/implication.” The authors are advised to carefully write a brief and concise description of their work’s impact toward communicating its significance ( 6 ). The authors are strongly advised not to copy the abstract into the cover letter and instead explain in their own words the significance of the work and the reason for submitting it to the journal ( 11 ). If this information is lacking, the editors may rely on the reviewers who may not appreciate the significance of the work and just focus on the technical issues rather than the scientific value of the work ( 5 ). Providing a clear and robust statement of novelty and significance would be more critical for editors and potential reviewers with diverse and interdisciplinary backgrounds ( 6 ).

The statements are expected to answer the following questions: (1) why is the work important? (e.g., emphasizing a new measurement, a new diagnostic method or criterion, a newly discovered biological process); and (2) how does the work advance current knowledge in the field? The best approach to answer this question is by describing the current state of knowledge in the field and clarifying how the work provides an added value by answering a previously unanswered question, finding the solution to a problem, or improving existing methods ( 5 ). Checking the recently published papers on similar topics in the journal provides new insights for the authors to clarify in the cover letter as to how the manuscript follows the publication trends of the journal and will add something new that would be relevant to the trend ( 12 ).

The cover letter is also expected to emphasize why the manuscript will attract the journal’s readers ( 5 ). The authors also need to consider the journal’s Aims and Scope to underscore how the manuscript would fit within the journal’s scope and attract potential readers ( 13 ). Instead of stating simply that the manuscript is “of interest to the field” or “novel,” the authors should address specific aspects of the journal’s Aims and Scope statement, e.g., “We believe that this manuscript is appropriate for publication by [journal name] since it… [reference to the journal’s aims and scope] ( 11 ).

For a review, opinion, or a trends paper, emphasizing the timeline and novelty is needed, as stated by Sacristán, the editor of trends in molecular medicine: “The synthesis and conceptual advance should be particularly stated in terms of what is new and has been trending in the field for the last one to five years”. She also recommends that the authors need to provide a future perspective beyond the main take-home message of the manuscript for a trends paper and take a strong and novel stance on a hypothesis or idea for a cover letter of an opinion manuscript ( 14 ).

The cover letter must contain some predefined statements, including the “author agreement” statement ( 13 ). An “author agreement” is a statement to confirm that “all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript being submitted” ( 8 ). Furthermore, “the authors warrant that the manuscript is their original work, has not received prior publication and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere” ( 8 ). Some journals may request the corresponding author to confirm that he/she will take responsibility for informing co-authors of editorial decisions, reviews received, and any changes or revisions made; additionally, the editor (s) should be informed about any closely related manuscript (s) simultaneously submitted for consideration to the same or another journal ( 15 ). The authors also should declare if any part of the submitted work has been previously published elsewhere, even as an abstract ( 16 ); e.g., “there is some overlap in the content of the introduction section, which we have noted in the text”.

Depending on the journal’s policy, other statements, including “conflict of interest statement”, “funding source declarations”, and “permission note”, may also be required to be included in the cover letter ( 8 , 11 ). As indicated by Elsevier, a conflict of interest statement, known as a disclosure statement, is a declaration from the author that “there is no financial/personal interest or belief that could affect their objectivity”. The publisher emphasizes that the authors should declare and state the potential conflict’s source and nature in cases where a conflict of interest exists. A funding source declaration is defined by the publisher as “a declaration of any funding or research grants (and their sources) received in the course of study, research or assembly of the manuscript”. Elsevier also defines the permission note as a statement that declares that “permission has been received to use any material in the manuscript such as a figure, which is not original content” ( 8 , 17 ). Other statements like “Statement of English native editing” may also be added.

Furthermore, informing the editor (s) regarding any information that will support the submission (e.g., original or confirmatory data, supplementary materials, relevance, topicality) can be helpful ( 8 ). Other operational information, typically provided within checkboxes of the journal’s submission system, is not required to be included in the cover letter ( 5 ).

3.2. Second Cover Letter

The second cover letter, which accompanies the revised version of the manuscript, must be a model of clarity and must address every issue posed by the editor and reviewers ( 10 ). If the revised manuscript is sent for the second round of peer-review, the reviewer (s) will see the letter. The content of the header and footer sections of the revised letter is similar to that of the submitted cover letter. The letter should be directed to the editor as addressed in the first letter unless the authors are informed that a new editor will process the revised version ( 10 ). The first paragraph should start with an “expression of polite gratitude”, e.g., “we would like to thank you for the opportunity to revise and resubmit our manuscript.” The “manuscript ID” or “identification number,” usually assigned by the journal in the first submission, should be addressed in the first paragraph ( 10 ).

The second paragraph usually “signals attention to the reviewers’ comments” by providing an explicit reference to the comments made by the reviewers and the editor. Furthermore, it may contain a positive statement regarding the results, methodology, conclusions, etc., in which case the authors need to acknowledge reviews’ insights ( 10 , 18 ). For example, “We sincerely appreciate all the valuable comments and suggestions made, which helped us improve the revised version of our manuscript” or “we found the reviewers’ comments helpful in guiding us to revise the manuscript.” Such statements will help the authors in creating a polite, formal tone throughout the letter. The paragraph should be followed by providing the editor with a roadmap or a summary of the revisions, addressing “the response to comments attachment.” A point-by-point response to the specific comments of the reviewers must be provided. If the authors disagree with a point raised by a reviewer, a rebuttal or counterstatement may be in order. A scientific and polite approach should spell out why the authors disagree, never losing sight of the reviewer’s opinion ( 19 ).

The footer section (closing salutation) of the letter returns to polite formalities, using statements like “we hope that the revised version of our manuscript is now acceptable to the reviewers, and suitable for publication in the [name of journal], we look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience” ( 10 ).

4. Organization

Although it is not a rule, the cover letter’s content can be organized within a cover letter header (opening salutation), three main paragraphs (the body of cover letter), and a cover letter footer (closing salutation), as described in Table 1 .

The cover letter should be initiated by addressing the editor (s) and the target journal; however, the author’s affiliation and contact information may also be included at the top of page ( 4 ). The name of the editor (s) can be easily found on the journal’s information page. If it is known, the authors must address the editor who will receive the manuscript and handle the peer-review process ( 13 ). If there are several co-editors, the person the author feels has the most appropriate background, and specialty of the topic should be addressed. In cases where such information is lacking, authors can mention all editors by name or address the letter to “dear editors” ( 12 ); however, it has been recommended to avoid writing “dear editor” ( 16 ). Also, the submission date and the journal’s name where the manuscript will be submitted are required ( 13 ).

In the first paragraph of the cover letter body, to introduce the submitted work, the title and the type of manuscript, authors’ name, journal name, and manuscript length are presented ( 4 ). In addition, it is mentioned that whether the manuscript is submitted upon an invitation or belongs to a special issue. The importance of the study, including novelty, potential implications, and its take-home message, are addressed in the second paragraph of the cover letter body. In addition, it is explained why the work would be attractive for journal readers. The third paragraph of the cover letter body includes some statements including authorship agreement, conflicts of interest, funding source, and ethical considerations. If required, potential reviewers are also suggested here.

Within the closing salutation, the authors can appreciate the editor for taking the time to read the cover letter and considering the submitted work for potential publication.

5. Some Practical Tips: The Length, and Dos and Don’ts

The authors need to spend plenty of time crafting their cover letters. They are advised to avoid too many details and keep it within one page (less than 200 words), like an introduction or a brief overview ( 4 , 11 ). The authors should check the guide for authors and cover letter suggestions provided by the journal, including all the requirements, e.g., specific disclosures, statements, and potential reviewers. Some publishers (e.g., Springer, https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/journal-author/cover-letters/1398, Taylor & Francis, https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/publishing-your-research/making-your submission/writing-a-journal-article-cover-letter/) provide sample cover letters that the authors can use. Figure 1 provides a sample for a cover letter.

If the authors address previously published papers in the cover letter, then appropriate citation should be considered. The authors should carefully check the letter for any spelling and grammatical errors ( 11 , 20 ). They should make sure that they correctly spell the name of the journal’s editor (s) ( 4 ). Being careless regarding the editor’s name or the change of a journal’s name in a cover letter of a resubmitted manuscript, can be embarrassing and make a bad impression ( 4 ). It is suggested that the cover letter be written on the authors’ institutional letterhead to display professionalism and reliability ( 20 , 21 ).

5.2. Don’ts

When authors suggest a number of potential reviewers, they should avoid suggesting their friends and colleagues, as this would be viewed as a conflict of interest. Collaborators whom the authors have published with in the past five years should not be suggested either; an editor may easily be informed of such associations by a quick search of PubMed or other databases ( 22 ). The authors should avoid using complex sentence structures, jargon, and acronyms and keep the text straightforward and easy to read ( 11 , 20 ). The authors should also avoid including unrelated personal information or glorifying their past research papers or any of their academic accolades ( 20 ). They must not be rude towards the editors or complement the editor’s accomplishments ( 4 ). The novelty statement should not exaggerate or overstate the findings of the work; furthermore, any conclusion stated should be completely supported by the data provided in the manuscript ( 23 ). Finally, authors are recommended not to write a generic cover letter that could be used for any manuscript and could be sent to any journal ( 21 ).

6. Conclusion

In summary, a cover letter should highlight the novelty, importance, take-home message, and goodness-of-fit of the manuscript to the journal. These are critical information that can persuade an editor that the submitted work merits publication consideration in the journal. The cover letter should not be general but should be custom-written for the target journal. Although the submitted manuscript may usually pass through the peer-review process and get published regardless of the cover letter, a well-written, informative, and concise cover letter increases the chance of gaining acceptance.

Authors' Contribution: Study concept and design, Zahra Bahadoran and Asghar Ghasemi; Drafting of the manuscript, Zahra Bahadoran, Parvin Mirmiran, and Asghar Ghasemi; Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content, Khosrow Kashfi and Parvin Mirmiran.

Conflict of Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest.

Funding/Support: This study was supported by the Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (grant number 28127).

Prepare Manuscript

Use Microsoft Word, 12 pt Times New Roman (or similar font); double-spaced and left justified. Use continuous line numbering in your manuscript.

Parts of a Manuscript

Each manuscript should contain each of the following elements, in the following order.

Give complete information about each author (i.e., full name, graduate degree(s), affiliation, and the name of the institution in which the work was done. Clearly identify the corresponding author and provide that author’s mailing address (include phone number, fax number, and email address). Include separate word counts for abstract and text.

The following are examples of footnotes that should be included, when necessary, at the beginning of an article (linked to author[s] name[s]):

1 These authors contributed equally to this article.

1 These first authors contributed equally to this article.

1 These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

1 These authors were co–principal investigators.

1 Current affiliate: University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

1 Deceased. (Note: the affiliation for deceased authors should be included in the affiliation list.)

1 Members of the team/group are listed at the end of this article/in the Technical Appendix.

1 Preliminary results from this study were presented at the XXX conference; July 17-20, 2012, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Article Summary Line

For perspectives, synopses, policy reviews, and research studies, include a clear, brief 1-sentence summary of the article’s conclusions; the summary will appear in the table of contents. This sentence should highlight the bottom-line public health implications of the article and should be pithy, readable, and designed to entice someone to read the full article.

Running Title

A running title that will appear on the top of each right-hand print page and along top of the online browser window. The running title should be no more than 50 characters long, including spaces. Some common abbreviations ( E. coli ) and acronyms (MRSA, MDR TB, XDR TB) are allowed in running titles, but less familiar terms should be written out within the character limit.

Include appropriate keywords (no limit); use terms listed in the National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings index ( www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html ). Do not use formatting (boldface or italics) in keywords (note that they are only used for indexing and are not visible to readers).

The title should be brief, concise, and call attention to the main point of the article. With a few exceptions, abbreviations and acronyms must be written out in full in titles but numbers can be given as digits rather than spelled out. EID does not use subtitles in titles or titles that are sentences.

Give complete information about each author (i.e., full name, affiliation, and the name of the institution where the work was done). Provide, at minimum, first and last names of each author. Middle names or initials and academic degrees are optional, although academic degrees will not appear in the published article. (Note: use periods, but no spaces, between initials.)

Use the following format:

Dana C. Crawford, Shanta M. Zimmer, Craig A. Morin, Nancy E. Messonnier, Ruth Lynfield, Qian Yi, Cynthia Shephard, Michelle Wong, Mark J. Rieder, Robert J. Livingston, Deborah A. Nickerson, Cynthia G. Whitney, and Jairam Lingappa

If 2 or more authors contributed equally to an article, this contribution may be acknowledged with a footnote that states “These authors contributed equally to this article.” However, a biographical sketch will be included for only the first author (unless the article has only 2 authors).

Affiliations

Authors may list multiple affiliations, but provide only the overall institutional affiliation for each, not departments or other subunits. Identify city, state or province (for USA, Canada, Australia only), and country.

Incorrect: National Immunization Program, Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Correct: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Incorrect: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Correct: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

Author’s full initials and last name will appear after their respective institutions.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (J. Doe, A.-E. Smith); and University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA (J. Doe, B. Jones)

Use heading of “Author affiliations:” (>1 affiliation) or “Author affiliation” (1 only). No possessive (i.e., not Authors’).

Drop redundant material after first mention, unless something changes after city.

Author affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Emory University, Atlanta

Author affiliations: University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA; EviMed Research Group, LLC, Goshen, Massachusetts, USA

Author affiliations: Columbia University, New York, New York, USA; The Consortium for Conservation Medicine, New York; University of California, Santa Cruz, California, USA; New York State Department of Health, Slingerlands, New York, USA

Author affiliations: Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; University of Queensland, Brisbane; Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand; OzFoodNet, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia; OzFoodNet, Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia; and Australian National University, Canberra

When all authors have 2 affiliations, and those affiliations are the same it is acceptable to format as:

Author affiliations:  Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and Emory University, Atlanta.

Universities with multiple campuses:

Write campus (city) location as city, so it appears only once.

Incorrect: University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

Correct: University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

Names of institutions (including geographic designations that are part of the name) need not be translated into English. However, the city, state or province, and country listed in the affiliation should be given as the common English preferred designation in the Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names.

Incorrect: Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italia

Correct: Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy

Institut Pasteur (Pasteur Institute in English) should list the city separately, not as part of the name.

Incorrect: Institut Pasteur de Morocco, Casablanca, Morocco

Correct: Institut Pasteur, Casablanca, Morocco

Countries: Abbreviate USA and UK within affiliations in all cases. Include the state, territory, or province only for the USA, Canada, and Australia. Do not list the country for cities in England (only UK); do specify Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland for cities in these countries.

List China as China. For Taiwan, it is up to the author’s discretion whether or not to use “Republic of China.”

On second mention within affiliations, abbreviate DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

List Hong Kong as Hong Kong, China, at first mention, then just Hong Kong at subsequent mention. Special Administrative Region is not the preferred usage, according to Getty.

Mention Singapore (city/country) only once.

According to Australia’s postal conventions, the suburb, not the city, is used in an address.

Organizations in author list:  If the author list on an article includes an organization and a membership list is given, follow this process:

1. Insert a superscript footnote number after the organization name.

2. Insert a footnote after the affiliations in this format: “Additional members of [group name] who contributed data are listed at the end of this article.” If no members are listed separately as authors, delete “additional”; “who contributed data” can also be deleted if appropriate, such as when all group members are listed.

3. Place the member list directly after the text of the article, formatted using the Acknowledgments style. If there is an Acknowledgments header, then this paragraph should go before the header (not under it).

4. Use the same wording as the footnote as an introduction before the list: “Additional members of [group name] who contributed data:”

5. If locations are given, list name first, then location in parentheses. That is, “S.N. O’Connor (United States),” not “United States: S.N. O’Connor.”

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An abstract is a brief, comprehensive summary of the contents of the article; it allows readers to survey the contents of an article quickly, and like a title, it enables abstracting and information services to index and retrieve articles. An abstract should briefly summarize the research question and any relevant background information, methods, results, and conclusions. Avoid vague or promising phrases such as “…implications of these findings are discussed;” instead, state public health implications of the results.

Do not use structured abstracts (i.e., subheadings). Do not cite references in the abstract. Abstracts for perspectives, synopses, policy reviews, and research studies should not exceed 150 words. Abstracts for dispatches and research letters should not exceed 50 words. Authors may submit an abstract in their native language as well as in English. Letters commenting on articles, book reviews, and conference summaries do not have abstracts.

Keep formatting simple. Use 12-point Times New Roman font with ragged right margins (left justified). Double space everything, including the title page, abstract, references, tables, and figure legends. Indent paragraphs; leave no extra space between paragraphs. After a period, leave only 1 space before beginning the next sentence. Italicize (rather than underline) scientific names when needed.

Acknowledgments

Full names only, not titles (e.g., Doctor, Professor) and affiliations, are listed for persons acknowledged. Acknowledgments for materials supplied belong as a parenthetical citation in the text where materials are mentioned.

Disclaimers

A disclaimer is placed on the inside front cover of the published journal and used periodically throughout the publication. It states, “The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated.” Additional disclaimers are discouraged.

Biographical Sketch

For all article types, excluding letters, media reviews, and conference summaries, include a short (2–3 sentences) biographical sketch of only the first author or of both authors if only 2 authors. Include current position and affiliations (city but not state and country if same as in author affiliation list) and primary research interests.

Address for Correspondence

Clearly identify the corresponding author and provide that author’s mailing address, including phone number, fax number, and email address.

(The phone and fax number will not be published.) Only 1 author may be designated as corresponding, and only 1 address may be published for that author (i.e., corresponding author may not list 2 email addresses).

Follow the conventions used in individual countries for capitalizng or not capitalizing street names. Capitalize CEDEX in French addressed. Examples:

In France: 28 rue du Docteur Roux

In France: 20 rue Leblanc, 7508 Paris CEDEX 15, France

In the United States: Main St

In the United States: 1600 Clifton Rd NE

Use capital letters for the first word of agency names, except for prepositions (e.g., of, with, in); articles (e.g., a, an, the [unless "The" is part of the agency name]); and conjunctions (e.g., and).

Use the US form of country names.

Mexico, not México Peru, not Péru Brazil, not Brasil

For CDC addresses, list CDC only (spelled out), not CIOs; provide mailstop; include NE after Clifton Road.

John Doe, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd NE, Mailstop X55, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA

Supplemental Materials

For materials outside the scope of the article, authors may submit an Appendix, which will be included with the article. Appendixes can include additional text, references, tables, figures, and other materials. Appendixes will be formatted but not edited; these materials are not included in the manuscript maximum word and reference counts. Links to Appendix materials will be provided in the text of the article where the materials are cited. Appendixes that are surveys written in a language other than English may be published in their original language.

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Newly Recognized Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia as Cause of Severe Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever-Like Illness, Northern California, USA — (Length: 32:27)

Length: 32:27

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Article Quick Search

Cover letters

A good cover letter will help "sell" your manuscript to the journal editor. it is not enough to send a manuscript to a journal editor like this:.

Dear Editor-in-Chief,

I am sending you our manuscript entitled "Large Scale Analysis of Cell Cycle Regulators in bladder cancer" by Researcher et al. We would like to have the manuscript considered for publication in Pathobiology.

Please let me know of your decision at your earliest convenience.

With my best regards,

Sincerely yours,

A Researcher, PhD

Instead, check to see whether the journal's Instructions for Authors have any cover letter requirements (e.g., disclosures, statements, potential reviewers).

Then, write a letter that explains why the Editor would want to publish your manuscript:

Common phrases:

• Please find enclosed our manuscript, "[manuscript title]" by [first author's name] et al., which we would like to submit for publication as a [publication type] in [name of the journal].
• To our knowledge, this is the first report showing...
• We believe our findings would appeal to the readership of [journal name].
• Please address all correspondence to:
• We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

All cover letters should contain these sentences:

• We confirm that this manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by another journal.
• All authors have approved the manuscript and agree with its submission to [insert the name of the target journal].

Submission checklist Before submitting your manuscript, thoroughly check its quality one more time. Evaluate it critically-could anything be done better?

Be sure that:

• The manuscript follows the submission guidelines
• All files are in the correct file format and of the appropriate resolution or size
• The spelling and grammar are correct
• You have contact information for all authors
• You have completed online registration for the submission process for your target journal
• You have written a persuasive cover letter

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How to Submit a Manuscript

Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD) uses PCD ScholarOne for manuscript submission and tracking. Before you submit your manuscript, however, please read the instructions below in addition to the information provided.

• Check your manuscript file against the Simplified Checklist for New Submissions .
• Conflicts of interest. The cover letter should disclose any and all conflicts of interest as described in PCD’s Editorial Policy . If there are no conflicts of interest, the cover letter should state the following: The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, or publication of this article.
• Prior publication. Describe any previous presentation of the material.
• Responsibility for the work. All authors must have participated in the work and must have seen and approved the manuscript before submission.
• Financial support. The cover letter should disclose all financial support for the work described in the manuscript. Include grant numbers, if applicable. If no financial support was received, the cover letter should state the following: The authors received no external financial support for the research, authorship, or publication of this article.
• Copyrighted materials. A statement is made regarding permission to adapt or reuse any copyrighted material. Copyrighted material refers to a) any photos, figures, images or other images that require permission to be republished in the article and b) any tools, surveys, or other instruments that require permission to be adapted or reused in the research described in the article. If no copyrighted material was used, include the following statement: No copyrighted material, surveys, instruments, or tools were used in the research described in this article.
• Institutional review and approval. Authors should disclose whether institutional review board approval was needed and. If so, name the granting institution.

The opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors’ affiliated institutions.

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Written Samples

15 sample cover letters for manuscript submission.

Submitting your manuscript to a publisher can feel like sending your creative work into a black hole.

You painstakingly craft your cover letter, follow all the submission guidelines to a T, and hit send with trembling fingers, only to be left waiting and wondering for weeks or months.

Will an editor connect with your story?

Will they even read past the first page?

While there is no magic formula for getting your work accepted, a compelling cover letter is an essential tool for catching an editor’s attention.

Sample Cover Letters for Manuscript Submission

The ideal cover letter is professional but personable, concise but informative. It should pique the editor’s interest while showing that you’ve done your research and are familiar with their publication.

To help inspire your submission, we’ve compiled 15 sample cover letters that successfully led to manuscript requests or publication.

Whether you write fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or children’s books, you’ll find a variety of approaches represented here.

Let’s explore them!

Sample Cover Letter #1

Dear [Editor’s Name],

Please find attached my 80,000-word upmarket women’s fiction novel, THE LOST YEARS, for your consideration.

Charlotte Hawkins had an idyllic childhood—until the day her best friend Jenny disappeared without a trace. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte is a successful attorney in Boston, engaged to a senator’s son, her past trauma buried deep. But when she receives an anonymous letter hinting that Jenny is still alive, everything unravels.

Traveling back to her hometown in Maine, Charlotte must confront unsettling truths about her family and the events surrounding Jenny’s disappearance. As she edges closer to answers that could rewrite her entire history, she risks losing everything she’s worked so hard to build. THE LOST YEARS explores the ripple effects of childhood secrets and the lengths we go to protect the ones we love.

I am a graduate of the Lighthouse Writers Workshop novel program and my short fiction has appeared in Carve Magazine, The Chattahoochee Review, and Rosebud. I believe THE LOST YEARS will appeal to fans of Jennifer Weiner and Jamie Brenner.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

[Your Name]

Sample Cover Letter #2

Dear [Agent’s Name],

I am seeking representation for my 75,000-word contemporary romance novel, LOVE ON THE VINE. Given your interest in wine country settings and swoony but smart love stories, I thought it might be a fit for your list.

Mia Reeves planned to save her family’s struggling Sonoma winery—not fall for the wealthy wine collector trying to buy them out. But Andrew Walker is charming, passionate, and offers a tempting way out of her financial woes. As they work together to revitalize the vineyards, their chemistry ignites. There’s only one problem: Andrew is poised to acquire the winery that’s been in Mia’s family for generations. Caught between her heart and her legacy, Mia must decide what she’s willing to sacrifice for love.

LOVE ON THE VINE is a standalone novel with series potential, featuring a diverse cast of characters, mouthwatering culinary delights, and an emotional, sensual romance. I envision it appealing to readers who enjoyed Jasmine Guillory’s THE WEDDING DATE or the Napa Valley wine country setting of Meg Donohue’s EVERY WILD HEART.

I have been an avid romance reader for over a decade and am an active member of my local RWA chapter. This is my first novel. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Thank you for your consideration! I’m excited to share LOVE ON THE VINE with you.

All my best,

Sample Cover Letter #3

I am writing to submit my picture book manuscript, EVERYBODY HAS A BELLYBUTTON, for your review. At 650 words, this humorous and educational story will help curious preschoolers understand why all mammals have navels, with charming illustrations of different baby animals and their adorable tummies.

When a curious young girl named Layla asks why her puppy Biscuit has a belly button just like her, Mama explains how all mammals—from cats to elephants to humans—grow inside their mothers and are born with a navel. Excited by this news, Layla runs to tell her friends that she has something in common with all different kinds of animals. EVERYBODY HAS A BELLYBUTTON lightly touches on themes of curiosity, empathy, and finding connections with others.

With a background in early childhood education and two children of my own, I was inspired to write a story that celebrates children’s natural curiosity about their bodies and the world around them. Similar titles include:

• I WISH YOU MORE by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

• NOT QUITE NARWHAL by Jessie Sima 

• THE RABBIT LISTENED by Cori Doerrfeld

This is my first picture book submission. I would be happy to send the full manuscript for your review.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you!

Sample Cover Letter #4

I am pleased to submit four poems for your consideration: “Bone Orchard,” “The Glassblower’s Daughter,” “Demeter in Winter,” and “Persephone, Reimagined.” Totaling approximately 300 words, these pieces explore themes of loss, transformation, and mythology through a feminist lens.

My poetry has previously appeared in Rattle, THRUSH Poetry Journal, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and Menacing Hedge, among others. In 2019, I was a finalist for the Autumn House Rising Writer Prize. I hold an MFA from Warren Wilson College and serve as a poetry editor for Longleaf Review.

I appreciate [Literary Journal]’s commitment to publishing powerful, finely wrought verse that engages with social issues. I believe my work may resonate with your readers and would be honored to see these pieces included in an upcoming issue.

Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I look forward to your response.

Best regards,

Sample Cover Letter #5

I am writing to seek representation for THE SHADOW GARDEN, my 95,000-word gothic mystery novel. With shades of Mexican Gothic and Rebecca, this multi-generational tale of secrets and deception may be of interest given your enthusiasm for atmospheric, suspenseful fiction with strong female characters.

When recently divorced painter Sonia Villa inherits a crumbling estate in the Mexican countryside from a grandmother she never knew, it seems like the fresh start she needs—until she stumbles upon human remains in the overgrown garden. But this is only the first in a series of disturbing discoveries that draw Sonia into the tangled history of her enigmatic grandmother Rosalinda and the mansion’s dark past.

As Sonia unearths the shocking truth behind Rosalinda’s hasty marriage to a wealthy older man, her mysterious death soon after, and the whispered rumors of madness and murder that have long haunted the property, she realizes her own life may be in danger. Because now that Sonia has learned the house’s secrets, whatever killed her grandmother is coming for her next.

I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami and my short fiction has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. This is my debut novel. I have included the first ten pages below. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience regarding THE SHADOW GARDEN.

Sample Cover Letter #6

Please find attached my creative nonfiction essay, “Stitched,” for consideration in [Literary Journal]. At 3,500 words, this piece examines the connective threads between memory and handcraft through the lens of the embroidered tablecloth that has been passed down through generations of women in my family.

While the tablecloth itself is a work of art, the essay reveals it as so much more—a document of my family’s history, a representation of the traditionally undervalued emotional and creative labor of women, a love letter, and a memorial. The threads of the tablecloth become a metaphor for the ties that bind a mother to daughter across decades, stitching together family lore, cultural heritage, domesticity, and selfhood.

My essays have previously appeared in River Teeth, Hippocampus Magazine, Under the Sun, and The Rumpus. I am a staff writer for Book Riot, where I cover craft titles and fiber arts-related books. I have an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College.

I believe “Stitched” will resonate with [Literary Journal]’s readership, given your focus on publishing intimate, voice-driven narratives that engage with questions of family and identity. Thank you for considering my work. I look forward to your response.

Sample Cover Letter #7

I’ve been an avid reader of your blog and a fan of several authors you represent, so I was thrilled to see that you’re actively seeking middle-grade adventures. I’m writing to share my upper MG fantasy novel, RIVER OF STARS, complete at 75,000 words.

Twelve-year-old Kin has always felt out of place, caught between two worlds. As one of the last descendants of an ancient race that draws magic from the night sky, she should be training in secret with the other starchildren. Instead, she’s stuck living a boring, magic-less life in the bustling port city of Haiyang, helping out at her family’s struggling noodle shop.

But when an evil sorcerer escapes from prison and begins kidnapping starchildren in an attempt to steal their celestial powers, Kin can no longer hide from her destiny. With help from her best friend Lin and a mischievous flying monkey named Feng, Kin must embrace her heritage, master her budding abilities, and figure out how to save her people—all while keeping her double life hidden from the authorities and finishing her homework on time.

Inspired by Chinese mythology and the stories my grandmother told me as a child, RIVER OF STARS is a fast-paced, voice-driven adventure full of magic, humor, and heart. It explores growing up caught between cultures and learning to celebrate what makes you different. This standalone novel has series potential and will appeal to fans of Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee and the Kiranmala and the Kingdom Beyond series by Sayantani DasGupta.

I hold an MFA in Writing for Children from Simmons University and am an active member of SCBWI. My narrative nonfiction piece, “Mooncakes with Grandma,” appeared in Stories for Children Magazine.

Per your submission guidelines, I have included the first three chapters of RIVER OF STARS below. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Sample Cover Letter #8

I am submitting my short story “The Cartography of Ghosts” for consideration in [Literary Journal]. Complete at 7,000 words, this piece of speculative fiction follows a mother-daughter team of paranormal investigators as they attempt to unravel the truth behind a mysterious death in a small Oregon logging town.

On its surface, “The Cartography of Ghosts” is a ghost story, complete with a creepy abandoned sawmill and possible demonic possession. But at its heart, it’s a tale about the memories and emotions that haunt us long after we think we’ve let them go. Protagonist Vera is forced to confront her unresolved guilt and grief regarding her father’s death years before as she and her psychic daughter Sabine investigate the ghost of a logger who died under eerily similar circumstances.

I’m the author of the indie horror novels Night Tide and The Juniper Bones, which have collectively sold over 5,000 copies. My short fiction has appeared in Lamplight, The Dark, and Unnerving Magazine. I am currently working on my third novel.

Given [Literary Journal]’s reputation for publishing emotionally resonant, cross-genre fiction with an emphasis on the strange and unsettling, I believe “The Cartography of Ghosts” would be an excellent fit. Thank you for your consideration.

Sample Cover Letter #9

I am writing to submit my narrative nonfiction piece “In Praise of Weeds” (3,000 words) for consideration in the spring issue of [Literary Journal].

“In Praise of Weeds” is a lyrical meditation on suburban ecology, motherhood, and finding beauty in unexpected places. Inspired by my young daughter’s fascination with the dandelions and clover that dot our local park, this essay examines the vital role that “undesirable” plants play in supporting pollinators and other wildlife. It also touches on themes of allowing children to experience small freedoms and cultivating a sense of wonder about the natural world close to home.

As an environmental journalist, my work frequently examines the intersections of nature, science, and human experience. My articles and essays have appeared in Sierra, Orion, Catapult, and [Literary Journal]. This piece will resonate with your ecologically engaged readership and would be a timely fit for an issue released just as spring wildflowers begin to bloom.

I appreciate you taking the time to read “In Praise of Weeds.” I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sample Cover Letter #10

I discovered your name in the acknowledgments of Courtney Summers’ Sadie, as she credited you with helping bring that powerful book into the world. Given your enthusiasm for gritty, voice-driven YA fiction tackling complex social issues, I believe my novel WHEN WE VANISHED may be of interest.

Complete at 80,000 words, WHEN WE VANISHED is a dual POV contemporary YA that pairs the unputdownable pacing of Karen McManus with Tiffany D. Jackson’s acerbic wit and unflinching look at social injustices. The story follows sixteen-year-old YouTube makeup guru Meena Patel as she and her younger brother are forced to go on the run with their mother after an ICE raid upends their life in Boulder, Colorado.

As Meena, born in the U.S., schemes to turn herself in so her undocumented brother Akash can escape, she clashes with Diego, a former friend whose own father was deported years before. Diego wants to help the Patels forge a new life across the Canadian border, but first Meena must learn to trust him—and find the courage to fight an immigration system intent on tearing her family apart.

I am an immigrant rights activist and community organizer. Like Meena, my parents came to the U.S. from India in the 1980s, and my fears of having my family separated inspired this novel. I hold a BA in Creative Writing from [University].

Attached are the first fifty pages of WHEN WE VANISHED. I’d be happy to send the full manuscript upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon regarding this project.

Sample Cover Letter #11

Nearly one in five Americans live with a mental illness, but misconceptions still abound. I’m writing to submit my completed 65,000-word mental health memoir BEYOND THE BELL JAR for your consideration.

In this book, I recount my experiences as a twenty-two-year-old college student struggling with depression, anxiety, and undiagnosed bipolar disorder against the backdrop of my small Midwestern hometown. Misunderstood by family and friends and failed by an overtaxed healthcare system, I am left to work through the diagnosis, medication, and recovery processes largely on my own—and nearly lose myself in the process.

BEYOND THE BELL JAR is both a coming-of-age story and a clear-eyed examination of the barriers to adequate mental health treatment that persist today. Blending unflinching honesty with biting wit, I tackle heavy topics like suicidal ideation, hospitalization, and the trials and errors of treatment while never losing sight of the wry absurdities of young adulthood. Readers of Esmé Weijun Wang’s The Collected Schizophrenias and Susannah Cahalan’s Brain on Fire will find a similar mix of raw vulnerability, thorough research, and hard-won wisdom here.

I am a mental health advocate and freelance journalist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, Vox, Bustle, and The Mighty. I have spoken about my experiences at conferences nationwide and regularly lead writing workshops for individuals with mental illness. Conversations sparked by these engagements reinforced my belief that BEYOND THE BELL JAR will find an eager audience seeking candid, enlightening narratives of survival.

Thank you for considering my memoir. I look forward to sharing the complete manuscript with you.

Sample Cover Letter #12

I am seeking representation for my 82,000-word upmarket fiction novel FOR WANT OF A ROOF, which was longlisted for the 2023 [Contest Name] Award. Given your interest in literary fiction with commercial appeal that examines social issues and family dynamics, I thought it might be a good fit for your list.

Architect Alyssa Wu has returned to her hometown in rural Montana on a mission to save her family’s floundering construction business—and to rebuild the strained relationship with her conservative father Dan. Her plan? To convert an abandoned warehouse into a chic “live/work” space that will attract young professionals and revitalize the struggling town center. But when Dan suffers a debilitating stroke, Alyssa must take over the day-to-day operations of Wu & Daughter Construction and complete the high-stakes project alone.

As mounting financial pressures and a bitter winter threaten the warehouse renovation, Alyssa strikes up an unlikely friendship with Jordan, an idealistic social worker who runs the town’s struggling homeless shelter. With Jordan’s support, Alyssa devises an unorthodox solution to keep the project alive, but the risks could cost her everything—her father’s trust, her family’s legacy, and a chance at the life and love she never knew she wanted.

FOR WANT OF A ROOF is a poignant and sharply observed novel about a woman coming into her own as she works to rebuild her family and her community. It will appeal to fans of Tayari Jones’ AN AMERICAN MARRIAGE and GIRL UNBROKEN by Regina Louise.

I hold a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and my short stories have appeared in The Adroit Journal, Joyland, and The Offing. The first three chapters of FOR WANT OF A ROOF are included below. The full manuscript is available upon request.

Sample Cover Letter #13

Please find attached my 500-word flash nonfiction piece “How to Pack Up Your Childhood Bedroom” for consideration in [Literary Journal].

This concise essay serves as a melancholy how-to guide for the universal experience of boxing up one’s belongings and leaving the childhood home, touching on themes of growing up, letting go, and the mix of grief and excitement that accompanies this bittersweet rite of passage. Through cataloging the detritus of adolescence—half-finished diaries, concert ticket stubs, trophies from bygone hobbies—the narrator reflects on who they were and who they hope to become.

“How to Pack Up Your Childhood Bedroom” provides a snapshot into the life of someone on the precipice of a new beginning, capturing the uncertainty and possibility of this liminal moment. I believe it will resonate with [Literary Journal]’s readers, many of whom are students on the cusp of similar transitions.

My nonfiction has been published in Brevity, The Rumpus, The Offing, and Gay Magazine. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa.

Thank you for considering my work. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sample Cover Letter #14

I’m writing to seek representation for my 90,000-word young adult science fiction novel, REBEL RADIO, which was a finalist for the [Contest Name] Emerging Writers Prize.

In the year 2135, the authoritarian Harmony Party outlawed music, art, and other forms of creative expression in favor of “productive pursuits.” Sixteen-year-old Cadence, a natural-born musician, finds an unexpected outlet for her banned passion: a secret rebel radio station broadcasting underground rock shows to the youth of her domed city. Performing on air as DJ Siren, Cadence revels in using music to spark small acts of defiance and give hope to other artistic souls—until her pirate radio exploits draw the attention of a handsome government enforcer who may not be the enemy he seems.

As Cadence and her fellow rebel musicians race to throw the rock show of the century, they must dodge surveillance drones, misleading holograms, and the constant threat of arrest. But when a source inside the government reveals the Harmony Party’s horrific true agenda, Cadence realizes their performances could be the key to bringing down the whole system—if they can find the courage to play one last song.

REBEL RADIO is an action-packed, anti-authoritarian anthem that never loses sight of the power of music, creativity, and connection in any era. It will appeal to fans of POET X by Elizabeth Acevedo and Lauren Oliver’s DELIRIUM series.

I am a music journalist and YA author. My debut novel, DRUM ROLL PLEASE, was published by [Publisher Name] in 2019 to critical acclaim. The full manuscript of REBEL RADIO is available upon request.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon about this project.

Sample Cover Letter #15

I’m submitting my contemporary short story “Bottomless” for consideration in your summer fiction issue. At 4,200 words, this piece follows a woman’s impromptu journey to reconnect with a piece of her past—and perhaps find a new way forward.

Reeling from her mother’s death and an unexpected divorce, 38-year-old Mira takes a spontaneous road trip to attend her twenty-year high school reunion. Along the way, she becomes entangled with an old classmate she barely remembers and a local urban legend that haunted their teenage years. Throughout a strange and illuminating weekend, Mira must finally confront the unsolved disappearance that shaped her youth and the gaping absences in her own life.

“Bottomless” examines questions of grief and resilience, the untold stories we carry, and what happens when the clear-cut roles and relationships of adolescence grow murky with age. Fans of Emma Cline’s short fiction will appreciate the sense of enigmatic menace thrumming beneath the surface of the everyday.

My fiction has appeared in One Story, American Short Fiction, Ninth Letter, and The Pushcart Prize anthology. I work as a features editor at [Publication Name].

Thank you for your time and consideration. I’d be thrilled to see “Bottomless” included in your upcoming issue.

These 15 examples show the range of styles and techniques that can be employed in compelling cover letters tailored to a variety of projects, genres, and submission opportunities.

Whether you’re an emerging writer seeking publication for the first time or an established author with many credits to your name, a strong cover letter is an invaluable tool for providing context for your submission, connecting with editors and agents, and showing that you’ve done your research.

The most effective cover letters are professional but passionate, concise but key, enticing the reader to immerse themselves in your manuscript while demonstrating your familiarity with the market and your thoughtful rationale for submitting to this particular venue or individual.

To write your potent cover letter, be sure to:

• Address a specific individual by name when possible
• Mention the title, genre, and word count of your project in the first paragraph
• Provide a brief but compelling plot summary or description of your piece
• Include your publishing history and relevant writing credentials
• Explain why you believe the project is a fit for the recipient
• Thank the reader for their consideration and express enthusiasm for their reply
• Keep it to about 3-5 paragraphs or no more than a single page
• Close the letter professionally and cordially

Above all, remember that your ultimate goal is to give the reader a tantalizing taste of your unique voice and perspective, convincing them that your writing is worth their time and serious consideration.

By studying effective cover letter examples, identifying the hallmarks of your project, and presenting both with clarity and confidence, you’ll be well on your way to catching an editor’s eye and bringing your work into the world.

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access

ISSN: 2684-4559

Instructions for Authors

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access brings articles in all areas related to Chronic diseases on trimonthly basis. Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access is spotlight on Chronic or Acute Diseases, Bacterial infectious Diseases, Fungal Infectious Diseases, Viral Infectious Diseases, Parasitic Infectious diseases and other clinical infectious diseases. It welcomes the submission of manuscripts that meet the general criteria of significance and scientific excellence.

Submit manuscript at www.scholarscentral.org/submissions/clinical-infectious-diseases-open-access.html or send as an e-mail attachment to the Editorial Office at    [email protected]

Policy Regarding the NIH Mandate

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access will support authors by posting the published version of articles by NIH grant-holders and European or UK-based biomedical or life sciences grant holders to PubMed Central immediately after publication.

Article Processing Charges (APC) :

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access is an Open Access Publisher that provides free access to all the published materials to its users/readers. However, the publisher does not get any institutional or organizational support to meet its publication and archiving expenses. Hence, the publisher relies exclusively on article processing charges of the authors furnished below. Besides APC, authors also need to pay 219 Euro as administrative fees at the end of publication process. This administrative charge is not included in the APC and is charged for the smooth running of the publication process.

The regular processing and publishing charges per article in the journal is 1050 Euro .

Average Article prorcessing time (APT) is 45 days

The basic article processing fee or manuscript handling cost is as per the price mentioned above on the other hand it may vary based on the extensive editing, colored effects, complex equations, extra elongation of no. of pages of the article, etc.

Articles Categories

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access is a scholarly research journals and it considers various types of articles for publication such as:

Research Article: A research article is a primary source. It reports the original study performed by the authors. A Results and Discussion section describes the outcomes of the data analysis. Charts and graphs illustrating the results are typically included followed by conclusion and References. The word limit for a research article should be 1500-6000. Each article should possess a section “Conflict of Interest”.

Review Articles: A review article is an article that summarizes the current state of understanding on a topic. A review article surveys and summarizes previously published studies, rather than reporting new facts or analysis. The preferable word count for review article should be 2500-9500. Review articles must explain:

• Recent major advances and discoveries
• Significant gaps in the research
• Current debates
• Ideas of where research might go next

Case Reports: Case reports are professional narratives that provide feedback on clinical practice guidelines and offer a framework for early signals of effectiveness and adverse events. They can be shared for medical, scientific, or educational purposes. It is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. The word count for the case report will be 1000-2000. Case studies without proper discussion are not accepted for publication.

Commentaries/Perspectives: Perspective, opinion, and commentary articles are scholarly articles which express a personal opinion or a new perspective about existing research on a particular topic. The word limit for the Commentaries/perspectives should not be more then 1000-1800.

Editorials: Editorials are expert opinions on a specific field where the specialist is able to predict and analyze the future trends based on the current developments. Editorials are generally written by senior scientists, distinguished academicians and noble laureates that have extensive command over the field. The word limit for the editorials should not be more than 900-1200. Short Communication Short Communication is a description, viewpoints, and observations of the author referring facts, findings from other studies and writes a critical and brief analysis that would not exceed 500-1000 words.

Letters to the Editors: Letters to the Editors are reader’s views, opinions, comments, suggestions on various articles published in the journal. Often ‘Letters to the Editor’ elaborate, question, analyze and add value to the study. Letters to the Editors should not exceed 500-1000 words.

Disputes: All the disputes related to copyright violation and scientific misconduct will be thoroughly examined and if proved guilty, the Editor in Chief can reject or blacklist the author/ writings.

Manuscript Submission

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access follows a prescribed set of article types with a specific format for manuscript. Type the entire manuscript, including figure legends, tables, and references, in font 12, in Times New Roman, double-spaced using Microsoft Word. Leave 1-inch margins on all sides. Manuscripts should be written succinctly and should cite select references that are directly relevant. For guidance on length of each article, see section on article types below.

Covering Letter

Covering Letter is declaration of the corresponding author stating that the manuscript is original in all aspects and it is not published or under consideration for publication with any other publisher. The declaration must also include a statement that the study did not violate any national or international laws on human, animal and environmental rights. All the other authors that have contributed for the study are bound to obey the declaration signed by the corresponding author.

The title page must display the complete title of the study reflecting its overall objective followed by the complete list of all authors’ with their full names, affiliations; an abbreviated title for the running head (not to exceed 50 characters, including spaces); name and address of corresponding author, contact telephone, fax number, and e-mail address. Where necessary, identify each author’s affiliation by superscript numbers matched to the appropriate institution. The subsequent pages furnish and unfold the study. The manuscript must be clearly demarcated with the sub-headings, stated in Arabic numbers. Each and every page of the manuscript must be thoroughly numbered on top right corner of the page.

Abstract and Keywords

The manuscript must begin with an abstract of not more than 500 words that captures the entire summary of the study, including its scope, methodology, findings, conclusion and limitations. At least five important terminologies reflecting the theme of the manuscript must be placed as keywords at the end of the abstract.

Introduction

All the manuscripts must start with an introduction to begin with, which sets the tone and the foundation for the study. Introduction provides basic information of the study by referring similar such studies elsewhere. Introduction briefly discusses various key aspects of the study, raising valid and important questions, which may be answered subsequently as the study progresses.

Methods and Materials

Methods and materials section discusses the research methods deployed to conduct the study, including the sample size and technique. It also discusses the tools used for the data collection, and interpretation.

The author draws various conclusions by analyzing the information extracted by analyzing the data elicited from the study. These are findings that the author/s would get at the end, may or may not coincide with the hypothesis set by the author/s at the beginning of the study.

Discussion and Analysis

The collected information is analyzed statistically by applying various relevant formulas that are universally acceptable and the data is analyzed to produce observations and statements that are backed by valid evidences. This part of the manuscript generally represents tables, graphs, diagrams, charts that reinforce the values and information discussed in the manuscript as text.

Tables, Figures, Graphs and Diagrams

All the tables, graphs, diagrams and images provided in the text must have captions and legends, indicating their appropriate location in the manuscript. All the tables must be presented in the numerical order in Excel format, charts and diagrams must be presented in excel/word format and the images, diagrams and pictures must be presented in jpeg format.

Conclusions are generally drawn from the findings that are summarized tat the end to draw valid findings of the study.

Limitations & Recommendations for Future Studies

Authors must define and state the limitations if any within the scope of the study and must clearly state it to avoid confusions. Authors must also suggest recommendations for future studies on this area.

This is an important part of the manuscript where author/s cites the source of the information referred in the manuscript to avoid copyright violation. The Advanced Practices in Nursing follows Chicago style of referencing. Author/s must carefully arrange the references as stated below.

Article with single author: Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Short Name in italics Volume Number (Year Published): Page Numbers. E.g. Smith, John. “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke.” Weird Science 12 (2009): 78-93. For an article written by two or more authors: List them in order as they appear in the journal. Only the first author’s name should be reversed, while the others are written in normal order. Separate author names with a comma and place ‘and’ between last two authors.

E.g. Smith, John, and Jane Doe. “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke.” Weird Science 12 (2009): 78-93. E.g. Smith, John, Austin Kaufmann, and Jane Doe. “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke.” Weird Science 12 (2009): 78-93.

For more than 4 authors: E.g. Smith, John, Austin Kaufmann, Jennifer Monroe, and Jane Doe, et al. “Studies in Pop Rocks and Coke.” Weird Science 12 (2009): 78-93.

Citation of book: Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, USA, 2015.

Citing News or magazine article: Farhad, Manjoo. “Snap Makes a Bet on the Cultural Supremacy of the Camera.” New York Times, March 8, 2017.

Book review: Michiko, Kakutani. “Friendship Takes a Path that Diverges.” Review of Swing Time, by Zadie Smith, New York Times, November 7, 2016.

Thesis or Dissertation: Cynthia, Lillian Rutz. “King Lear and its Folktale Analogues.” PhD Diss., University of Chicago, (2013): 99–100.

For more details on Chicago reference style please refer to https://libguides.murdoch.edu.au/Chicago

Acknowledgements

Author/s must acknowledge all the persons, institutions, organizations and the funding agencies that are resourceful in conducting the study.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must clearly disclose commercial associations that might create a conflict of interest in connection with submitted manuscripts and must give credit to any ghostwriters involved in the writing of the manuscript. This statement should include appropriate information for EACH author, thereby representing that competing financial interests of all authors have been appropriately disclosed.

Authors can share all the supplementary information that they could not share in the manuscript as appendix. Appendix also carries questionnaires, guidelines, and the universal standards followed in conducting studies involving animals.

Abbreviations

A bridged technical terms and jargons used in the study are expanded and must be placed at the end of the study for clear understanding of the readers.

License and Copyright

The type of use is dependent on user license. The author retains the copyright and grants publishing rights to the publisher. Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 allows articles to be read and shared online with certain conditions such as the original source must be cited and the research work may not be used for commercial purposes. Derivatives such as article translations and adaptations should not be distributed. Certain requirements by the funder are conformed by applying the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) as per the requirement.

Awards & Nominations

50+ million readerbase, journal highlights, google scholar citation report, citations: 49.

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access received 49 citations as per Google Scholar report

Clinical Infectious Diseases: Open Access peer review process verified at publons

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Manuscript Format

Please read these instructions carefully and follow them closely to ensure that the review and publication of your paper is as efficient and quick as possible. The Editors reserve the right to return manuscripts that are not in accordance with these instructions. Please note that initial submissions are largely “format free,” whereas manuscripts submitted after revision must adhere to specific formatting requirements outlined below. All material to be considered for publication in  The Journal of Infectious Diseases  ( JID ) should be submitted in electronic form via the journal’s online submission system. Once you have prepared your manuscript according to the instructions below, instructions on how to submit your manuscript online can be found by clicking on our  Online Submission page .

Pre-Submission inquiries can be addressed to the Editorial Office at [email protected] .

The Journal of Infectious Diseases  welcomes papers that have been peer reviewed by another medical journal and were not accepted for publication at that journal, where the authors believe they can address the essential concerns identified by previous peer reviewers. To submit such a paper to JID, authors should send a pre-submission inquiry to [email protected] , including both the paper submitted to the other journal and the decision letter received from the previous journal, with peer review comments in their entirety. The editors will respond to indicate if JID is interested in the submission.

If the editors express interest, the author can then revise the paper according to the peer review comments received and then submit the paper to JID. When submitting, the authors should:

• Indicate in the cover letter the original journal that the article was submitted to and provide a statement that the manuscript has been adequately revised according to the reviewers' comments.
• Upload the decision letter they received from the previous journal with peer reviewer comments in its entirety and a point-by-point response as supplementary material along with their submission.  
• Submit a track-changes version of the manuscript indicating how it has been revised to address the previous review comments and a clean version of the manuscript with those changes accepted.

These submissions should be limited to manuscripts refused at high-impact journals. JID’s editors will review the request and the attached material to determine the suitability of the paper for JID. If the paper is appropriate for JID, the editors may elect to send the manuscript for additional external peer review; however, if the editors, after internal review, agree that the previous reviewers’ comments were fully addressed and the paper requires no further revision, they may accept the paper immediately without additional external review. This process is intended to both speed the review process for previously reviewed papers and reduce the number of requests JID makes of its expert volunteer reviewers. We welcome pre-submission inquiries if you are unsure whether your manuscript is appropriate for this pathway.

Inclusive and Person-First Language

Authors should use inclusive and person-first language in manuscripts. Describe people as having a condition or disease, experiencing a circumstance or doing something specific rather than the condition, disease, circumstance or activity being part of their identity. For example, use “people with obesity,” “person with HIV,” “person who injects drugs,” “people experiencing homelessness,” etc. For more information and examples, see  Advancing Health Equity: Guide to Language, Narrative and Concepts  (free) or the  AMA Manual of Style section on inclusive language  (subscription required). We also recommend consulting the Guidelines on Inclusive Language and Images in Scholarly Communication from the Coalition for Diversity and Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC).

Initial Manuscript Submission: “Format Free” Submission

JID  has a streamlined submission process designed to avoid unnecessary work.

Manuscripts can be submitted in any common document format that can be easily opened and read by others. A single PDF or Word file is usually reliable. At first submission, it is not necessary to apply formatting to match house style. Instead, simply ask: would I enjoy reading and reviewing a manuscript formatted in this way? Some basic guidelines are provided below. You will still need to comply with the requirements and limitations of the selected article type, such as word count or maximum references. 

Basic Formatting Guide

On the first (title) page please include manuscript title, author names and affiliations, and the address (including email) of the corresponding author as well as the manuscript word count (Background to end of Discussion).

Please list all author contributions.

Provide a short abstract, avoiding abbreviations and reference citations. The abstract should follow the article type requirements, e.g. a structured abstract of no more than 250 words for major articles.

Define non-standard abbreviations at the first occurrence.

Include line and page numbers.

Number tables and figures consecutively by appearance, and provide a legend for each. Avoid overcrowding in tables and unnecessary clutter in figures. The initial submission can have figures and text in one file, if desired. Upon request, please be prepared to provide high-resolution figures separately, in a common image format (e.g. eps, tif, jpg).

Videos can be published in the online article, with a still image representing the video appearing in the print version. Submit videos in MP4 format if possible. All videos should have an accompanying legend.

References can be formatted in any readable style at submission. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Later, authors may be asked to comply with the journal’s citation convention (e.g., author–date, numerical or footnote-based).

Include acknowledgements, details of funding sources and grant numbers at the end of the text. Use author initials to indicate which authors were in receipt of grants.

If applicable, please include a statement of data availability at the end of the text. For example:  Data available at doi:10.5061/dryad.XXXX; Data available at GEO Series accession number GSE123456 and Proteome Xchange database PXD1234567; Data available in supplementary material; Data not publicly available . Where datasets have a DOI, please cite the data in the text, and place the citation in the reference section.

Please include at submission all files containing supplementary material cited in the text.

A list of at least 5-6 potential unbiased reviewers, with their e-mail addresses and a brief description for each of his/her qualifications as a reviewer.

After initial review, you may be asked to supply editable files that match journal formatting requirements, and high-resolution figures. COI forms are not needed at initial submission. You will be asked to supply this during the revision stage or upon acceptance, if no revisions were needed.

Manuscript Format and Structure for Manuscripts Being Revised

Papers cannot be accepted for publication in JID until these guidelines are followed.

At the time of acceptance (if no revisions requested) or at the time of resubmission of your reviewed manuscript, your manuscript will be returned (and will not enter production) if you do not do the following:

• Specify the type of article and adhere to the following limits: Major Article: 3500 words, 50 references, 7 inserts (tables and figures, with no more than 4 panels per figure) in print, and no more than 25 MB of online-only supplementary data. Brief Report: 2000 words, 15 references, 2 inserts (with no more than 4 panels per figure) in print, and no more than 25 MB of online-only supplementary data.  
• Include a cover letter with the following information: A statement that the manuscript has not been submitted or accepted elsewhere. Please state if posted on a preprint server (e.g., bioRxiv or medRxiv). A statement that all authors fulfill the criteria given in the Authorship paragraph (see below). A statement indicating whether any writing assistance other than copy editing was provided in the preparation of the manuscript.  
• All file names—for manuscript, cover letter, figures, tables—should contain no spaces between numbers or letters. File names may be run together (e.g., authornamearticletitleversion1) or contain punctuation such as underscores, hyphens, or both (e.g., author-name-article-title-version-1 or author_name_article_title_version_1).
• Ensure that the references are appropriately formatted in JID style.
• Ensure that all text, including tables and references, is double spaced.
• Ensure that the manuscript has page numbers. In addition, we require that all submissions use line-numbering within the text.
• Use a title of no more than 160 characters and spaces and a running title of no more than 40 characters and spaces.
• Include the word count of the abstract and of the text on the first manuscript page.
• Include a footnote page with the following items: A conflict of interest statement. A funding statement. Mention of any meeting(s) where the information has previously been presented. Corresponding author contact information.  
• Include 3–10 key words at the end of the abstract.
• Include, in the Methods section, a statement regarding informed consent and human and/or animal experimentation guidelines, when indicated.
• Include the registry number and date for a report of a clinical trial.
• Provide written permission for all personal communications.
• Provide accession numbers for nucleotide sequences.
• Use only approved human genetic nomenclature and notation.

Provide links to all analytical code (see above section: Software and Source Codes).

• Submit newly identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to the appropriate database; include previously recognized or recently submitted SNP numbers.
• Use standardized nomenclature for chemokines and chemokine receptors as listed in HUGO . Alternative names can be provided in parenthesis if desired.

JID complies with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (follow this link for the  complete text ), except that reference citations should appear in the text in square brackets (not parentheses). Text, tables, references, and legends must be double spaced. Italics should be used for genus and species names and for genes, but not for in vivo, in vitro, in situ, et al., or other Latin-derived expressions listed in Webster's Collegiate Dictionary; see a recent issue of JID for appropriate style.

All manuscripts—Major Articles, Brief Reports, Correspondence, Perspectives, Editorials, ID Translational Updates, and Supplement Articles—must have conflict of interest and funding statements (see the below sections for further details).

Major Articles describe original investigations that are an important advance in the field and that have been brought to an acceptable degree of completion. Major Articles must be no longer than 3500 words of text (from the beginning of the introduction to the end of the discussion; do not count the abstract or the references), and illustrations must be limited to the minimum necessary for clear and concise presentation. For Major Articles describing results of clinical trials (see Registering Clinical Trials ), the abstract must be structured with the headings Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions and must be no more than 250 words; for other Major Article manuscripts, the abstract may be structured (250-word limit) or unstructured (150-word limit). The order of the text should be Background, Methods, Results, and Discussion. The methods section in the main article should be sufficiently detailed to allow readers to repeat the study without having to refer to supplementary material. Major Articles are limited to a maximum of 7 inserts (tables and figures combined, with no more than 4 panels allowed per figure) in print, 50 references, and no more than 25 MB of online-only supplementary data.

Brief Reports present complete studies that are narrower in scope than those described in Major Articles or that represent new developments. Manuscripts that are descriptive or primarily methodologic in nature, that report results of phase I and II vaccine trials (see Registering Clinical Trials ), or that describe in vitro chemotherapeutic studies should, in general, be submitted as Brief Reports. Brief Reports include an abstract (no more than 100 words) and are limited to no more than 2000 words of text, a total of 2 inserts (tables or figures) in print, 15 references, and no more than 25 MB of online-only supplementary data. The order of the text should be Background, Methods, Results, and Discussion. The methods section in the main article should be sufficiently detailed to allow readers to repeat the study without having to refer to supplementary material.

Correspondence (letters) must be submitted in reference to a previous publication in JID (within the preceding 12 months); otherwise they will not be considered. Please prepare the letter in manuscript format, including a title page. The letter cannot exceed 750 words of text, 1 insert (table or figure), and 10 references. Presentation of unpublished, original data is not permissible in Correspondence.

Editorials are invited by the Editor and are overviews or critiques of articles appearing in JID . These are limited to 1500 words.

Viewpoints (also titled as Historical Viewpoint, Career Reflection, Opinion) are invited by the Editor and are brief viewpoints or summaries of topical areas in infectious diseases. These are limited to 900 words, 5 references and 1 figure or table.

Perspectives  are brief (<1500 words, limit 2 inserts, 25 references) individual viewpoints on controversial topics in infectious diseases. Unsolicited perspectives are considered, and authors should contact the Editor in advance of submission to determine whether the topic is deemed appropriate.

ID Translational Updates provide a topical research update for investigators and/or clinicians of important and/or emerging science in a focused area of ID translational science. While brief inclusion of key historical information is encouraged, the Update should focus on results and literature in the last 5 years. They should be no longer than 3000 words (from the beginning of the introduction to the end of the discussion) and have no more than 4 inserts (tables and figures combined, with no more than 4 panels per figure), 75 references and no more than 25 MB of online-only supplementary data. While a portion of ID Translational Updates will be invited, unsolicited ID Translational Updates will also be considered. Submitting a pre-submission inquiry to [email protected] is encouraged but not required.

Clinical or Public Health Commentaries are by invite only and will accompany ID Translational Updates to put the topic into perspective for JID readers. They should be no longer than 900 words with a maximum of 10 references and 1 figure and/or table.

Epilogue Reflections (formerly In Memoriam): JID periodically publishes obituaries for members of the infectious diseases community. Although specific decisions on obituaries are up to the editorial judgment of the editors, in general, JID publishes obituaries for past editors of the journal as well as individuals who have made significant contributions to basic or translational research into infectious diseases. If you are uncertain if a particular obituary is appropriate for JID, please submit a pre-submission inquiry to [email protected] .  

Tables and Figures

Major Articles are limited to a maximum of 7 inserts (tables and figures combined, with no more than 4 panels allowed per figure) in print and no more than 25 MB of online-only supplementary data. Brief Reports are limited to a maximum of 2 inserts in print and no more than 25 MB of online-only supplementary data. A single insert should not contain both tables and figures.

Data should not be repeated in both a table and a figure. Abbreviations and acronyms used in tables and figures must be explained in the table footnotes and figure legends, respectively, even if they were already defined in the text.

Tables should be numbered in the order of mention in the text. Tables should be typed double spaced throughout, with no vertical or internal rules. Footnotes and accompanying explanatory material should be kept to a minimum. Footnotes should be placed below the table and designated by superscript lowercase letters (listed in order of location when the table is read horizontally). Each column must have an appropriate heading describing the data in the column below, and units of measure must be clearly indicated. For further instructions on the preparation of tables in Word or WordPerfect, consult the  Guidelines for Tables .

Figures and Illustrations

Figures should be clear and comprehensible and should generally contain 1 panel. No more than 4 panels are allowed per figure. Each figure should have a resolution of at least 300 DPI, and should be provided, individually, in its native file format, i.e., the file type in which the image was created.

Image files should not be manipulated in any way, because this manipulation could lead to misinterpretation of the information present in the original image. Inappropriate manipulation may include, but is not limited to: movement, introduction, removal or enhancement of specific feature(s) and changes in brightness, contrast or color balance that obscure, eliminate or misrepresent any information.

Digital images may be scrutinized by the editors for possible improper manipulation. If evidence is found of inappropriate manipulation, we reserve the right to ask for original data and, if that is not satisfactory, the manuscript may be rejected and the authors’ institutions notified

Patient identity must be removed in all figures (i.e., x-rays, MRIs, charts, photographs, etc.). Written informed consent is required from any potentially identifiable patient or legal representative and should be presented in either the Methods section or the Acknowledgments.

Please follow this link for  further information regarding figures .

All figures submitted to the journal in color will be published in color online at no cost. Figures in the print version of your article may appear in color or grayscale. Details on color charges can be found on the  Charges  page.​ You will be issued an invoice at the time of publication. If you opt for color online but grayscale in print, please ensure that the figure legend provides an accurate description of both the grayscale and color versions of the figure (e.g., a graph’s green and red lines may turn out to be an identical shade of gray in grayscale). A possible remedy would be to use a solid line in place of one colored line and dashes in place of the other. You will have a chance to look at the grayscale version of your figures in the proof stage.

Important note regarding figures created in Biorender: Please note that figures created using Biorender’s free access plan may not be used in a journal publication, per Biorender’s terms of use and pricing plan . Images created using Biorender’s paid plans may be used in a journal publication, but they are copyrighted by Biorender and must acknowledge Biorender in the credit line. If you potentially intend to publish your paper as open access, you must request written permission from Biorender to publish the figure, or you must exclude the figure from your open access license by clearly stating Biorender’s copyright in the figure in the figure’s credit line.

Color Illustrations

Authors are required to pay the full cost of reproduction of color figures. For details see Journal Charges .

Supplementary Data

Authors may submit supplementary material for online-only publication if it is important and directly relevant to the understanding or interpretation of the main article. Such information might include more detailed methods, extended data sets/data analysis, or additional figures. All supplementary text and figures must be provided in suitable electronic formats, with each of the following as a separate file: text, each table, each figure with its own legend, each video. Do not submit any supplementary materials within the main manuscript document. All material to be considered as online-only supplementary data must be submitted at the same time as the main manuscript for peer review. It cannot be altered or replaced after the manuscript has been accepted for publication, and it will not be copyedited or typeset. Please indicate clearly all material intended as supplementary data upon submission and name the files (e.g., “Supplementary Figure 1,” “Supplementary Data,” etc.). Also ensure that the supplementary data are referred to in the main manuscript where necessary, for example as “(see Supplementary data)” or “(see Supplementary Figure 1).” The amount of supplementary material must be justified and limited to no more than 25 MB. If the material is deemed appropriate by the editors, it will be posted online at the time the article is published. Since the supplementary material will not be edited, authors are responsible for its accuracy.

Supplements

Supplements are published by  JID . Requirements for supplement manuscripts follow those for  JID  manuscripts (e.g., cover letter, conflict of interest and funding statements). Inquiries related to suitability of topic, program organization and production should be made in writing to the Editor.

Cover Letter

All manuscripts submitted to  JID  must be accompanied by a letter declaring that the manuscript has not been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere or must state that the manuscript has been posted on a preprint server (e.g., bioRxiv or medRxiv). This letter must warrant that all authors have seen and approved the content and have contributed significantly to the work. Authors should suggest six potential unbiased reviewers who are qualified to review their manuscript. A cover letter must also accompany a revised submission and must address, point by point, issues raised in the review process. Cover letters can be very informative when your manuscript is undergoing editorial evaluation. We suggest that the abstract not be repeated in the cover letter but rather the cover letter focus on conveying the purpose of the manuscript, what gap in knowledge the manuscript is addressing and how the presented work advances knowledge in the topic being addressed.

Related Manuscripts

If there appears to be significant overlap between the current submission and another manuscript submitted to  JID or another journal by the same authors, or if there is an overlap between a manuscript submitted to  JID  and one published by  JID  or another journal, the editors will ask the corresponding author to respond to the question of overlap. On the basis of the response, the editors may choose to consider the manuscript further, ask for modification of the manuscript or reject the manuscript; in the case of a rejected manuscript, the editors will provide the author(s) with a detailed explanation. The editors may also choose to take further action, which could include contacting the appropriate superior at the home institution and/or suspending publishing privileges in  JID  for a designated period of time. If it is found that the authors of an article published in  JID  had published an overlapping or identical manuscript in another journal, the editors will publish an announcement to that effect in  JID .

The title should be short, specific and informative. The first name, initial(s) and surname of each author should be followed by his or her department, institution, city with postal code and country. The fax, telephone number and e-mail address of the corresponding author should also be provided. Editorial policy allows up to two co-corresponding authors if required. Preferably, if two authors contributed equally to the manuscript, this may be noted by asterisks and explained in a footnote (e.g., “Author X and Author Y contributed equally to this manuscript.”). Any changes of address may be given next to the affiliations or acknowledgments. On the title page, please supply a running head of not more than 40 characters and spaces, a title of not more than 160 characters and spaces, the names and affiliations of all of the authors and word counts of the abstract and the text. Each author’s full name must be used. If there is potential confusion with respect to whether the first name presented is actually the last name of the author, please identify the last name.

Corresponding authors, alternate contact authors, and equal contribution authorship

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal throughout the submission, review, publication, and post-publication process. The corresponding author should ensure all requirements of submission and publication are met, including but not limited to ensuring all authors have seen the final version of the article and approve the submission to the journal, signing licenses to publish and paying invoice, and adhering to journal policies. For more information on the role of the corresponding author,  see ICMJE’s description .

Authors may designate up to two people as corresponding authors. Authors should mark the co-corresponding authors in the main document file with asterisks next to each name and a footnote denoting corresponding authorship. Note that only one person can be selected as the corresponding author in the submission system; that person will be responsible for communications during the review and production process, including decision letters, licenses, and invoices.

A second corresponding author is different than the alternate contact author requested during submission (though it may be the same person if a paper has two co-corresponding authors). All submissions require an alternate contact in case the designated corresponding author cannot be reached. The alternate contact author is a backup contact and will not be listed as a second corresponding author in the published paper.

To avoid confusion on which authors should be listed on the final paper as co-corresponding authors, please indicate “co-corresponding author” in the manuscript file to designate authors who both should be listed as corresponding authors in the final version. Alternate contact authors should be listed in appropriate space in the submission questionnaire and should not be designated in the manuscript file.

As an alternative to co-corresponding authors, authors may state that “author X, author Y, etc. contributed equally to this manuscript.”

Footnote Page

Footnotes must include (1) a statement that the authors either have or do not have a commercial or other association that might pose a conflict of interest (e.g., pharmaceutical stock ownership, consultancy, advisory board membership, relevant patents or research funding); (2) a statement naming sources of financial support (including grant numbers); (3) the name, date (month and year) and location (city, state and, if not USA, country) of a meeting at which all or part of the information has been presented (include an abstract number if possible); (4) the name, address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the person to whom correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed; and (5) current affiliations and addresses for authors whose affiliations have changed since completion of the study.

The abstract for a Major Article describing results of a clinical trial must be no more than 250 words and must be structured with the headings Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. The trial must be registered (see Registering Clinical Trials ), and the abstract must include the registry’s URL and the trial’s registration number. Abstracts of other Major Articles may be structured (250-word limit) or unstructured (150-word limit). Abstracts of Brief Reports should be no more than 100 words. Whether structured or unstructured, the abstract must state the purpose of the research, the methods used, the results and the conclusions. Do not cite references in the abstract. Include 3-10 key words, separate from the abstract. Authors are reminded that the abstract is of particular value to producers and users of online literature retrieval systems such as MEDLINE.

Multimedia Abstracts

JID  can support the publication of graphical or video abstracts to accompany the text abstract if desired. There is no obligation to do so for any article submitted to  JID .

Multimedia abstracts are a visual summary of the main article findings and often take the form of graphical images or videos. They display in addition to the text abstract and offer readers a quick browsing method, in addition to providing you with an asset to share and discuss your findings. The abstract is considered a part of the article and must be provided at the time the manuscript is submitted, they are peer reviewed and published online and in the PDF.

What makes a good multimedia abstract?

An effective multimedia abstract should convey the key question addressed in your research and a summary of the outcomes using universal visual cues and succinct data points. You may consider including the following:

• Summary of outcomes, key data points with units.
• Prose should be consistent with usage in the title and body of the article, but with minimal text.
• Color, image, and symbol use to translate your findings visually.
• Author name, journal, and year of publication.
• If using video, this should not simply be reading your text abstract—it should demonstrate something key to your findings.

A free primer on producing multimedia abstracts, including examples, can be found at the popular scientific publication blog,  A Surgeon’s Journey Through Research & Design .

Submitting a multimedia abstract

If provided, the graphical/video abstract should be submitted for peer review as a separate file, selecting the appropriate file-type designation in the journal’s online submission system. The file should be clearly named to show it is a multimedia abstract, as opposed to a figure that is part of the article body. Some examples:

• graphical_abstract.tiff
• video_abstract.mp4.

See  Preparing and Submitting Your Manuscript  for guidance on appropriate file format and resolution for graphics and videos—abstract media file formats follow the same requirements as article media placed in the content. Please ensure graphical abstracts are in landscape format.

Lay Summaries

JID  can also support publication of a lay summary as part of the article, in addition to the main text abstract. If utilized, the lay summary should clearly summarize the focus and findings of the article for non-expert readers and will be published as part of the article online and in PDF. The lay summary should be submitted for peer review as part of the main manuscript file, under the heading “Lay summary,” before the article’s main text. The lay summary should be no longer than 200 words. As with the main abstract, avoid citations and define any abbreviations. There is no obligation to provide a lay summary for any article submitted to  JID .

The text of Major Articles must be no longer than 3500 words, Brief Reports no longer than 2000 words, Viewpoints no longer than 900 words, Perspectives no longer than 1500 words, ID Translational Updates no longer than 3500 words, Editorials no longer than 1500 words, and Correspondence no longer than 750 words. The Methods section must include a statement that informed consent was obtained from patients or their parents or guardians and that human experimentation guidelines of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and/or those of the authors' institution(s) and in accordance with the ethical standards of the  Helsinki Declaration  (1964, amended most recently in 2013) were followed in the conduct of clinical research or that animal experimentation guidelines were followed in animal studies.

For commercially obtained products mentioned in the text, list full names of manufacturers. Generic names of drugs and other chemical compounds should be used.

Abbreviations

Non-standard abbreviations should be defined at the first occurrence and introduced only where multiple use is made. Authors should not use abbreviations in headings. Abbreviations do not need to be defined, even at first mention, if they are the standard abbreviations within AMA 11th edition.

Statistical Analysis

The statistical analyses used should be identified both in the text and in all tables and figures where the results of statistical comparison are shown.

Units of Measure

All data should be expressed in metric units; use of SI units is encouraged. Use °C for temperature.

Details of all funding sources for the work presented should be given in a separate section entitled “Funding.” This information should appear before the “Acknowledgment” section.

The following rules should be followed:

• The sentence should begin: “This work was supported by …”
• The full official funding agency name should be given, i.e., “the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health” or simply “National Institutes of Health” not “NCI” (one of the 27 subinstitutions) or “NCI at NIH.” Please follow this link for a  full RIN-approved list of UK funding agencies .
• Grant numbers should be complete and accurate and provided in brackets as follows: “[grant number ABX CDXXXXXX]”
• Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma as follows: “[grant numbers ABX CDXXXXXX, EFX GHXXXXXX]”
• Agencies should be separated by a semicolon (plus “and” before the last funding agency)
• Where individuals need to be specified for certain sources of funding the following text should be added after the relevant agency or grant number “to [author initials].”

An example is given here: “This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [P50 CA098252 and CA118790 to R.B.S.R.] and the Alcohol & Education Research Council [HFY GR667789].”

Crossref Funding Data Registry In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. For further information on this process or to find out more about CHORUS, visit the CHORUS initiative .

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments and details of non-financial support must be included at the end of the text before references and not in footnotes. Personal acknowledgment should precede those of institutions or agencies. Please note that acknowledgment of funding bodies and declarations regarding conflict of interest should be given in separate “Funding” and “Conflict of Interests” sections, respectively.

Conflict of Interests

Please follow this link for  further guidance on Conflict of Interests .

Full references should be provided in accordance with the style of JID .

EndNote and Reference Manager are software programs for publishing and managing references/bibliographies and are available from Clarivate and Mendeley, respectively. If you use EndNote or Reference Manager to facilitate referencing citations, this journal’s style is available for use. Please follow this link for  information on purchasing and downloading EndNote and this link for  technical support .

Major Articles are limited to 50 references, Brief Reports to 15 references, Viewpoints to 5 references, Perspectives to 25 references, ID Translational Updates  to 50 references and Correspondence to 10 references. Only works that have been published or accepted for publication can be included in the reference list. Unpublished observations by the authors (authors’ unpublished data), personal communications (J. L. Searle, personal communication), and manuscripts submitted for publication (H. Chapin and G. Miller, submitted) should be mentioned parenthetically in the text. Please note that all personal communication must be confirmed in writing by the person mentioned. Please number references in order of appearance; those cited only or first in tables or figures are numbered according to the order in which the table or figure is cited in the text. Example: If table 2 is cited in the text after reference 25, a new reference cited in table 2 will be reference 26.

References must follow the National Library of Medicine format as used in  MEDLINE  and  Uniform Requirements . Provide all authors’ (or editors’) names when there are fewer than 7; for 7 or more, list the first 3 and add "et al." Titles of journals not listed in MEDLINE should be spelled out in full. Reference to a doctoral dissertation should include the author, title, institution, location, year and publication information, if published. For online resources, include a URL and date accessed. Accuracy of references is the responsibility of the authors.

Examples of the proper format are as follows:

Journal Article Uherova P, Connick E, MaWhinney S, Schlichtemeier R, Schooley RT, Kuritzkes DR. In vitro effect of interleukin-12 on antigen-specific lymphocyte proliferative responses from persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1. J Infect Dis  1996  ; 174:483-9.

Book chapter McIntosh K. Diagnostic virology. In: Fields BN, Knipe DM, Chanock RM, et al., eds. Fields virology. 2nd ed. Vol 1. New York: Raven Press,  1990  :411-40.

Conference program Lyon DJ, Cheng AFB, Norrby SR. Mechanisms of cefotaxime resistance in blood culture isolates of Enterobacter high prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamases [abstract C43]. In: Program and abstracts of the 35th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (San Francisco). Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology,  1995  :47.

Web site Public Health Service Task Force. Recommendations for the use of antiretroviral drugs in pregnant HIV-1 infected women for maternal health and interventions to reduce perinatal HIV-1 transmission in the United States. Available at: http://www.hivatis.org. Accessed 24 April 2002.

Preprint publication

Please note that preprints should only be cited where a final version of the paper has yet to be published in a journal. In all other cases authors should use the journal reference.

Bar DZ, Atkatsh K, Tavarez U, Erdos MR, Gruenbaum Y, Collins FS. Biotinylation by antibody recognition- A novel method for proximity labeling. BioRxiv 069187 [Preprint]. August 11, 2016 [cited 2017 Jan 12]. Available from:  https://doi.org/10.1101/069187 .

For further information about medical references, see the  PubMed Link Help Page .

Permission to Reproduce Figures and Extracts

Permission to reproduce copyrighted material, for print and online publication in perpetuity, must be cleared and if necessary paid for by the author; this requirement includes applications and payments to DACS, ARS and similar licensing agencies where appropriate. Evidence in writing that such permissions have been secured from the rights holder must be made available to the editors. It is also the author’s responsibility to include Acknowledgment as stipulated by the particular institutions. Please note that obtaining copyright permission could take some time. Oxford Journals can offer information and documentation to assist authors in securing print and online permissions: please see the  Guidelines for Authors  section. Should you require copies of this, please contact the editorial office of  JID  in question or the Oxford Journals Rights department ( [email protected] ).

For a copyrighted prose work, it is recommended that permission is obtained for the use of extracts longer than 400 words; a series of extracts totaling more than 800 words, of which any one extract is more than 300 words; or an extract or series of extracts comprising one-quarter of the work or more. Note: If you will be selecting an Open Access license for your manuscript, request Open Access re-use permission. If you are unable to secure such re-use or that option is not available, please state this clearly by supplying the following credit line alongside the material: Title of content Author, Original publication, year of original publication, by permission of [rights holder] This image/content is not covered by the terms of the Creative Commons license of this publication. For permission to reuse, please contact the rights holder.

Written permission must be obtained from all investigators cited in a personal communication who are not coauthors of the present manuscript and from the copyright owner if a previously published table or figure is to be reproduced. Additionally, authors should include a copy of “in press” references and articles by the same authors on the same subject that were submitted elsewhere. All letters of permission and references/articles should be e-mail to the Editorial Office at [email protected] .

Journal Copyediting Style

Authors are referred to the  AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors  (11th Edition and the C hicago Manual of Style , 17th Edition .

Language editing, if your first language is not English, to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers is recommended, though optional. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. Please follow this link for  further information on this service . Several specialist language editing companies offer similar services, and you can also use any of these. None of these services have been validated by JID, OUP or IDSA. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services.

Copyright and License

It is a condition of publication for all Oxford journals that authors either assign copyright or grant an exclusive license to Oxford University Press or the sponsoring Society. This assignment ensures that all of the necessary rights needed for publication of the article are in place including provision for any requests from third parties to reproduce content from the journals are handled efficiently and consistently by OUP, enabling the content to be as widely disseminated as possible. No article will be published unless the license has been received in the system at Oxford Journals. Any queries about the license form should be sent as soon as possible to  Rights and Permissions  so that any issues can be resolved quickly and so any delay in publication is avoided.

As part of the terms of the license agreement, authors may use their own material in other publications written or edited by themselves provided that  JID  is acknowledged as the original place of publication and Oxford University Press as the publisher. As the author(s), copyright of the article remains yours (or your employer’s if your employer claims copyright in your work). Please follow this link for  full details of Oxford Journals' copyright policy and the rights retained by you/your institution under the terms of the license .

Upon receipt of accepted manuscripts at Oxford Journals, authors will be invited to complete an online copyright license to publish form.

Work submitted for publication must be original, previously unpublished and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Posting of the work on a preprint server (e.g., bioRxiv or medRxiv) must be acknowledged. If previously published figures, tables or parts of text are to be included, the copyright-holder’s permission must have been obtained prior to submission. For more information on how to obtain permissions, please consult  Rights and Permissions .

Authors are sent page proofs by email. These proofs should be checked immediately and corrections, as well as answers to any queries, returned to the publishers as an annotated PDF via email or fax within 2 working days (further details are supplied with the proof). It is the author’s responsibility to check proofs thoroughly.

Advance Access

Advance Access articles are a mix of accepted manuscripts, labeled as “Uncorrected Proofs,” and finalized manuscripts, labeled as “Corrected Proofs.” Uncorrected Proofs have been accepted by the journal but have not been copyedited or formatted for publication. Copyediting may lead to minor differences between the Uncorrected Proof and the Corrected Proof; there will be changes to the formatting and there may also be differences in the quality of the graphics. Appearance in Advance Access constitutes official publication, and the Advance Access version can be cited by a unique  DOI (Digital Object Identifier) . When an article appears in an issue, it is removed from the Advance Access page.

Open Access Option

The Journal of Infectious Diseases  authors have the option to publish their paper under the  Oxford Open  initiative; whereby, for a charge, their paper will be made freely available online immediately upon publication. After your manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author will be required to accept a mandatory license to publish agreement. As part of the licensing process you will be asked to indicate whether or not you wish to pay for open access. If you do not select the open access option, your paper will be published with standard subscription-based access and you will not be charged the additional fee.

Oxford Open articles are published under Creative Commons licenses.

Authors funded by RCUK, Wellcome Trust, Gates, and other organizations can use the Creative Common Attribution license (CC BY) for their articles.

All other authors should use the following Creative Commons license: Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives license (CC BY-NC-ND).

Visit the OUP licensing website to find out more about  Creative Commons licenses . You can pay Open Access charges using our Author Services site. This will enable you to pay online with a credit/debit card or request an invoice by email or post. The applicable open access charges vary according to which Creative Commons license you select. Details on open access charges can be found on the  Charges  page.

Please note that these charges are in addition to any color charges that may apply.

Orders from the UK will be subject to the current UK VAT charge. For orders from the rest of the European Union, OUP will assume that the service is provided for business purposes. Please provide a VAT number for yourself or your institution and ensure you account for your own local VAT correctly.

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