A good cover letter

摘要

Based on many years' experience in Biomedical Editing, I aim to show how to write a concise and well-crafted cover letter, which should accompany every manuscript submission to academic journals for consideration for publication. The cover letter is another 'face' of the manuscript and therefore its quality may also determine whether the manuscript is considered for publication. I will list the essential points to include when writing a cover letter. I will then provide an example of an actual cover letter (which I have significantly modified to protect the identity of the original author and to avoid possible plagiarism issues). Authors can use the below example cover letter as a template and insert their own particulars before sending their manuscripts for submission. However, it is highly recommended that all manuscripts are sent to a Biomedical Editing company or academic department before submission: 'editing' does not equate to a simple language check by a native speaker. Rather, it is a specialized skill that must be mastered over many years (I have personally edited thousands of Biomedical manuscripts).