Writing a Letter to the Editor

Greetings again. I hope that all is well.

As you may recall, last week I discussed writing cover letters. Now I’ll discuss another type of letter: a letter to the editor.

A letter to the editor is a letter sent to a journal (or newspaper or other venue) for potential publication. In journals, letters to the editor generally regard articles that the journal recently published.

Letters to the editor can provide useful feedback on articles—for example, by noting possible problems with research methods, proposing new interpretations of results, or reporting observations similar to those by the authors. Indeed, letters to the editor are sometimes considered “post-publication peer review”.

Commonly, journals publish only some of the letters to the editor that they receive. How can you help make your letter likely to be published? Here are some tips:

• Write a letter to the editor only if you have a substantial point to make. Do not write merely to say that the authors did good work or to note a minor weakness.
• Follow the journal’s instructions for writing letters to the editor. These instructions commonly appear in the letters section of the journal, in the journal’s instructions to authors, or both.
• If you are commenting on an article, submit your letter soon after the article was published.
• Be brief and focused.
• Write in a respectful, constructive way. Do not be sarcastic.
• Edit and proofread the letter before submitting it.

Well, that’s the end of this “letter”. Until next week— Barbara