AUTHOR SERVICES /// Article submission and peer review / 11
Things to avoid in your cover letter Your cover letter is your first chance to catch the eye of the journal’s editor. It’s about selling your research in your own words. With that in mind, it’s important to avoid: Copying your abstract into your cover letter – instead explain in your own words the significance of the work, the problem that’s being addressed, and why the manuscript belongs in the journal Too much jargon or too many acronyms – keep language straightforward and easy to read Too much detail – keep your cover letter to a maximum of one page, as an introduction and brief overview Any spelling and grammar errors – ensure your letter is thoroughly proofread before submitting it.
Cover letter template If you need help writing your cover letter, you can download and use our sample standard cover letter template as a guide.
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Select the right keywords Ideally, you’ll have chosen keywords for your article before writing it. This will ensure the whole text has been optimized for search engines. When you submit your article you’ll usually need to specify the keywords you’ve chosen. These will be used to index your article on the journal or publisher’s website, as well as on search engines like Google Scholar. Keywords will help others find your article quickly and accurately. But they aren’t just about improving your article’s discoverability – a strong correlation exists between the online hits an article receives and the subsequent number of citations it receives. So picking your keywords wisely is worth your while. How do you choose your keywords?
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Check your formatting
Think about how you search for articles yourself and what words or phrases you put in.
Although many journals have basic elements of style in common, each journal will have its own specific formatting. This defines how an article will look when it’s published online or in print.
Think about your own article and what keywords are most relevant to the focus of your work.
To make it easier for you to format your paper correctly, many journals provide article templates (for example in Word or LaTeX). If you’re publishing with one of our journals, you can find links to the article templates on your chosen journal’s homepage on Taylor & Francis Online under the instructions for authors. Each version of the template has its own instructions file, which explains how to save and use it.
You can also check and compare specific keywords on Google Trends to see which are the most used.
Format-free submission Over 350 Taylor & Francis journals now accept manuscript submissions without any specific formatting requirements – known as format-free submission. This means that, as long as you use a consistent citation format and include everything necessary for review, you can submit work without needing to worry about formatting your manuscript to meet that journal’s requirements. Find out more about format-free submission.
10 / AUTHOR SERVICES /// Article submission and peer review
Once you’ve drawn up a shortlist, try searching with them, to ensure the results fit with your article and so you can see how useful they would be to others.
If you’re still unsure, check the keywords used in your field’s major papers. To find out more about search engine optimization take a look at our online guide.
