{"id":114,"date":"2023-08-09T18:05:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T17:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/?page_id=114"},"modified":"2025-10-28T10:06:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T10:06:36","slug":"correspondence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/correspondence\/","title":{"rendered":"Correspondence"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"themify_builder_content-114\" data-postid=\"114\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-114 themify_builder\">\n\n    \n\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  class=\"themify_builder_row module_row clearfix module_row_0 themify_builder_114_row module_row_114-0 tb_74se241\">\n\t    \t    <div class=\"row_inner col_align_top\" >\n\t\t\t<div  class=\"module_column tb-column col-full first tb_114_column module_column_0 module_column_114-0-0 tb_qcsq242\" >\n\t    \t    \t        <div class=\"tb-column-inner\">\n\t\t    \n\n<!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text text-114-0-0-0  repeat   tb_ix6p102\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <h1>Correspondence &#038; submission <\/h1>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->\n\n\t        <\/div>\n\t    \t<\/div>\n\t\t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t\n\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  class=\"themify_builder_row module_row clearfix module_row_1 themify_builder_114_row module_row_114-1 tb_voxo971\">\n\t    \t    <div class=\"row_inner col_align_top\" >\n\t\t\t<div  class=\"module_column tb-column col-full first tb_114_column module_column_0 module_column_114-1-0 tb_pifw972\" >\n\t    \t    \t        <div class=\"tb-column-inner\">\n\t\t    \n\n<!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text text-114-1-0-0     tb_1h2h985\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/southampton.cloud.panopto.eu\/Panopto\/Pages\/Embed.aspx?id=bd6f96bd-679f-452b-a420-b0ce0101de3a&#038;autoplay=false&#038;offerviewer=true&#038;showtitle=true&#038;showbrand=true&#038;captions=false&#038;interactivity=all\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\" style=\"border: 1px solid #464646;\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" aria-label=\"Panopto Embedded Video Player\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p>\n<p>Correspondence video (3 min. 34 sec.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/480\/2023\/11\/Correspondence-transcript.docx\">Download transcript<\/a><\/p>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->\n\n\n\n<!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text text-114-1-0-1     tb_qe5d658\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <h3>The publishing process involves lots of correspondence<\/h3>\n<p>An additional skill you will develop when publishing your research is writing the correspondence associated with your journal submission. There are broadly three types of correspondence:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Correspondence with your co-authors<\/li>\n<li>Correspondence with the journal, namely the editor(s) and copy editors<\/li>\n<li>Correspondence with the reviewers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Well written\u00a0correspondence\u00a0is key to a smooth publishing experience.<\/p>\n<h3>Co-authors<\/h3>\n<p>Everyone has their own style, but the features of a well written email are that it is\u00a0<em>timely<\/em>,\u00a0<em>concise<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>specific<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Timely means that you send an email only when needed and not otherwise. This increase the chances of a response as co-authors will come to expect only important emails from you.<\/li>\n<li>Concise means get to the point without being rude.<\/li>\n<li>Specific means be clear about the purpose of your email and make any required actions clear. For example,\u00a0<em>\u201cPlease read the amendments to lines 150-175 on page 3 of the manuscript and confirm these changes are acceptable.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Editors<\/h3>\n<p>Not all journal submissions require cover letters, but when they do the cover letter serves as the first point of communication in the submission process. It can either help or hinder the chances of your manuscript being sent out for peer review.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As with email correspondence, being concise is advised and you should check the journal\u2019s author guidelines for any specific content, but a cover letter generally comprises of the following parts in addition to opening and closing salutations:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Yours and the Editor\u2019s name, address and the date.<\/li>\n<li>State the purpose of your letter (submitting a manuscript ) including your manuscript title and the journal you are submitting to.<\/li>\n<li>A brief summary of your research findings and why you think your manuscript would be a good fit for the journal; do not copy and paste your abstract. It can be useful to reference other related papers the journal may have published to support the claim that your manuscript will be of interest to the readers.<\/li>\n<li>Statements required by the journal. You\u2019ll need to check the journal requirements, but these are usually things like declarations of conflict of interest.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>You may find this <a href=\"https:\/\/annaclemens.com\/blog\/what-editors-like-to-see-in-a-cover-letter\/\">What a Cover Letter for Journal Submission Should Include<\/a> blog post useful.<\/p>\n<h3>Submission checklist<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Journal requirements: have you followed the Instructions for Authors?<\/li>\n<li>Funder requirements: have you acknowledged your funding and added a data access statement if required by your funder?<\/li>\n<li>Academic integrity: have you correctly cited all references and confirmed with your co-authors they agree the manuscript is ready to be submitted?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Peer review responses<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/ploscompbiol\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1005730\">Ten simple rules for writing a response to reviewers<\/a> (Noble, 2017)\u00a0 and <a href=\"https:\/\/aisel.aisnet.org\/jais\/vol24\/iss2\/11\/\">A Practical Guide for Successful Revisions and Engagements with Reviewers<\/a> (Pang &#038; Thatcher, 2023) provide full guidance on what to consider when reading and then composing your responses to reviewers of your manuscript.<\/p>\n<p>Even if your article is rejected, or a \u201crevise and resubmit\u201d recommendation was made by the reviewers, their feedback to you should be professional and constructive, with specific comments to help you improve your manuscript.<\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->\n\n\t        <\/div>\n\t    \t<\/div>\n\t\t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t\n\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  class=\"themify_builder_row module_row clearfix module_row_2 themify_builder_114_row module_row_114-2 tb_ky6c473\">\n\t    \t    <div class=\"row_inner col_align_top\" >\n\t\t\t<div  class=\"module_column tb-column col2-1 first tb_114_column module_column_0 module_column_114-2-0 tb_iopg474\" >\n\t    \t    \t        <div class=\"tb-column-inner\">\n\t\t    \n\n    <!-- module buttons -->\n    <div  class=\"module module-buttons buttons-114-2-0-0   normal solid squared tb_7gr231\">\n        \t<div class=\"module-buttons\">\n                            <div class=\"module-buttons-item  buttons-horizontal\">\n\t\t    \t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/peer-review\/\" class=\"ui builder_button\" >\n\t\t    \t\t    \t\t\t<span>Peer review<\/span>\n\t\t    \t\t    \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <!-- \/module buttons -->\n\n\t        <\/div>\n\t    \t<\/div>\n\t\t<div  class=\"module_column tb-column col2-1 last tb_114_column module_column_1 module_column_114-2-1 tb_6d0l474\" >\n\t    \t    \t        <div class=\"tb-column-inner\">\n\t\t    \n\n    <!-- module buttons -->\n    <div  class=\"module module-buttons buttons-114-2-1-0   normal solid squared right-align tb_864l89\">\n        \t<div class=\"module-buttons\">\n                            <div class=\"module-buttons-item  buttons-vertical\">\n\t\t    \t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/what-to-do-at-acceptance\/\" class=\"ui builder_button\" >\n\t\t    \t\t    \t\t\t<span>What to do at acceptance<\/span>\n\t\t    \t\t    \t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <!-- \/module buttons -->\n\n\t        <\/div>\n\t    \t<\/div>\n\t\t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Correspondence &amp; submission Correspondence video (3 min. 34 sec.) Download transcript The publishing process involves lots of correspondence An additional skill you will develop when publishing your research is writing the correspondence associated with your journal submission. There are broadly three types of correspondence: Correspondence with your co-authors Correspondence with the journal, namely the editor(s) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5549,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-114","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author",""],"builder_content":"<h1>Correspondence &amp; submission <\/h1>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/southampton.cloud.panopto.eu\/Panopto\/Pages\/Embed.aspx?id=bd6f96bd-679f-452b-a420-b0ce0101de3a&autoplay=false&offerviewer=true&showtitle=true&showbrand=true&captions=false&interactivity=all\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\" style=\"border: 1px solid #464646;\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay\" aria-label=\"Panopto Embedded Video Player\"><\/iframe><\/center><\/p> <p>Correspondence video (3 min. 34 sec.)<\/p> <p><a href=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/480\/2023\/11\/Correspondence-transcript.docx\">Download transcript<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>The publishing process involves lots of correspondence<\/h3> <p>An additional skill you will develop when publishing your research is writing the correspondence associated with your journal submission. There are broadly three types of correspondence:<\/p> <ol> <li>Correspondence with your co-authors<\/li> <li>Correspondence with the journal, namely the editor(s) and copy editors<\/li> <li>Correspondence with the reviewers<\/li> <\/ol> <p>Well written\u00a0correspondence\u00a0is key to a smooth publishing experience.<\/p> <h3>Co-authors<\/h3> <p>Everyone has their own style, but the features of a well written email are that it is\u00a0<em>timely<\/em>,\u00a0<em>concise<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>specific<\/em>.<\/p> <ul> <li>Timely means that you send an email only when needed and not otherwise. This increase the chances of a response as co-authors will come to expect only important emails from you.<\/li> <li>Concise means get to the point without being rude.<\/li> <li>Specific means be clear about the purpose of your email and make any required actions clear. For example,\u00a0<em>\u201cPlease read the amendments to lines 150-175 on page 3 of the manuscript and confirm these changes are acceptable.\u201d<\/em><\/li> <\/ul> <h3>Editors<\/h3> <p>Not all journal submissions require cover letters, but when they do the cover letter serves as the first point of communication in the submission process. It can either help or hinder the chances of your manuscript being sent out for peer review.\u00a0<\/p> <p>As with email correspondence, being concise is advised and you should check the journal\u2019s author guidelines for any specific content, but a cover letter generally comprises of the following parts in addition to opening and closing salutations:<\/p> <ol> <li>Yours and the Editor\u2019s name, address and the date.<\/li> <li>State the purpose of your letter (submitting a manuscript ) including your manuscript title and the journal you are submitting to.<\/li> <li>A brief summary of your research findings and why you think your manuscript would be a good fit for the journal; do not copy and paste your abstract. It can be useful to reference other related papers the journal may have published to support the claim that your manuscript will be of interest to the readers.<\/li> <li>Statements required by the journal. You\u2019ll need to check the journal requirements, but these are usually things like declarations of conflict of interest.<\/li> <\/ol> <p>You may find this <a href=\"https:\/\/annaclemens.com\/blog\/what-editors-like-to-see-in-a-cover-letter\/\">What a Cover Letter for Journal Submission Should Include<\/a> blog post useful.<\/p> <h3>Submission checklist<\/h3> <ul> <li>Journal requirements: have you followed the Instructions for Authors?<\/li> <li>Funder requirements: have you acknowledged your funding and added a data access statement if required by your funder?<\/li> <li>Academic integrity: have you correctly cited all references and confirmed with your co-authors they agree the manuscript is ready to be submitted?<\/li> <\/ul> <h3>Peer review responses<\/h3> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/ploscompbiol\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1005730\">Ten simple rules for writing a response to reviewers<\/a> (Noble, 2017)\u00a0 and <a href=\"https:\/\/aisel.aisnet.org\/jais\/vol24\/iss2\/11\/\">A Practical Guide for Successful Revisions and Engagements with Reviewers<\/a> (Pang &amp; Thatcher, 2023) provide full guidance on what to consider when reading and then composing your responses to reviewers of your manuscript.<\/p> <p>Even if your article is rejected, or a \u201crevise and resubmit\u201d recommendation was made by the reviewers, their feedback to you should be professional and constructive, with specific comments to help you improve your manuscript.<\/p>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/peer-review\/\" > Peer review <\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/what-to-do-at-acceptance\/\" > What to do at acceptance <\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5549"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":500,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/114\/revisions\/500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/publishingresearch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}