As a researcher or author, do you think it is worth writing such a manuscript type?

Yes - especially to raise points of debate. A letter to the Editor can effectively be a form of 'post-publication peer review'

Can you resubmit such "Letter" to another journal I'd being rejected?

Yes

Will you expect any citations from such "Letter"?

Yes, in my experience

Will such "Letter" be externally peer-reviewed?

This is at the discretion of the Editor

Is an underlying relationship with the editor an advantage of writing such "Letter"?

It should not be

What do the editor expect you to write before accept your "Letter"?

Your letter should contribute intellectual value

Will "Letter" increase your h-index number?

A letter does not usually represent original research so not usually.

There is no source of information on the acceptance rate of such articles.

Do you have any experience on the acceptance rate of such?

Yes - it is easier to publish a letter to the editor compared to an original research paper. They take up less space in the journal

If such "Letter" is rejected, how will you handle the hard work with great effort paid?

Rejections are common throughout academic publishing. Take on board feedback from reviewers/senior colleagues and keep trying.

Hi Sunny Chi Lik Au, this is an interesting question which I never thought of. In fact, I never wrote such a "Letter to the Editor" in my entire 40-year scientific career. Personally I don't think it's worth the effort. Moreover, I'm pretty sure that such Letters will never be cited by anyone else. This may differ between various areas of research. In our field (chemistry) such Letters are extremely rare and uncommon.

Interesting.

You mention some good points.

A short communication is better, but has to be written exactly as an article, so just write an article, which will be cited if accepted

Dear All, in our area of research, I do not know of any reputable journal that publishes "Letters to the Editor". As a typical example, please find attached the respective manuscript guidelines of the journal "Organometallics", which is published by the American Chemical Society. As you can see, there is no mention of "Letters to the Editor". Instead, I would always try to publish a "Communication" which bears the chance of being highly cited.

Dear Frank,

In the field of Medicine, "Letter to editor"/ "Correspondence" is common.

Such as Lancet, Nature

https://www.thelancet.com/what-we-publish

https://www.nature.com/nature/for-authors/other-subs

Dear Sunny Chi Lik Au , OK, that confirms my assumption that it strongly depends on the area of research.

Hello,

You have your own window within the assigned journal, so you may add you comment or (letter) to the editor..

Yes, there is no issue in that.

From some research lab, they publish "Letter" but in the modern era, this concept is being obsolete. I can tell you that, 15-20 years ago, writing "Letter" to an editor was utterly different from now and it carried significant weight as well. Nevertheless, nowadays "Letter" has almost no or less appeal.

As a researcher or author, do you think it is worth writing such a manuscript type?

Yes - especially to raise points of debate. A letter to the Editor can effectively be a form of 'post-publication peer review'

Can you resubmit such "Letter" to another journal I'd being rejected?

Yes

Will you expect any citations from such "Letter"?

Yes, in my experience

Will such "Letter" be externally peer-reviewed?

This is at the discretion of the Editor

Is an underlying relationship with the editor an advantage of writing such "Letter"?

It should not be

What do the editor expect you to write before accept your "Letter"?

Your letter should contribute intellectual value

Will "Letter" increase your h-index number?

A letter does not usually represent original research so not usually.

There is no source of information on the acceptance rate of such articles.

Do you have any experience on the acceptance rate of such?

Yes - it is easier to publish a letter to the editor compared to an original research paper. They take up less space in the journal

If such "Letter" is rejected, how will you handle the hard work with great effort paid?

Rejections are common throughout academic publishing. Take on board feedback from reviewers/senior colleagues and keep trying.

you can try

Letter to the Editor is a different 'zone' altogether, considering articles in the mainstream of a journal. In general it is a medium to communicate extra information regarding a particular published article, not covered by the authors and adding an overview from references not acknowledged, in a succinct manner.

A published article may not necessarily mean that it is the 'standard of care' thing. So, pointing the other dimensions with literature support would establish the 'deficiencies' / neglected aspects, relevant to the article.

As a matter of fact, Watson & Crick's structure of the DNA was published as a Letter to the Editor in Nature (Watson J, Crick F. Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid. 1953 Nature 171, 737–738).

I believe that no problem to send a letter to the editor with explain the goal of your article.

Dear Mazin Ali A. Ali, let's not mix up a "Letter to the Editor" with a "Cover letter". A "Letter to the Editor" is a certain type of article which many journals do not publish. I think what you mean is a "Cover letter" which is normally mandatory with every manuscript submission. In the Cover letter the authors explain the goal of the manuscript and justify why their work is new and important. 👍

I think there is no problem to writ a letter to the editor.

Letters to editors about published articles can add significant perspective and depth to the literature. Letters can sometimes transform the perception of the findings of the original paper.

Dear Sunny Chi Lik Au, I searched a number of leading journals in our field of research and found out that apparently there is no such thing as a "Letter to the Editor". Many journals just do not provide this type of manuscript as an own category. In my opinion, it doesn't count as a scientific publication anyway.

It must be written mentioning what is done in the paper, how it is done, why implemented method is novel, why the communicated article is important for the journal, applications of the work...

In short brief of the work to draw the kind attention of the Editor

Dear Sudipta Das , what you describe correctly is a "Cover Letter" and not a "Letter to the Editor". The latter is a special manuscript type, while a Cover Letter should be submitted with every submission to any decent journal.

Dear Frank T. Edelmann, i described cover letter format. YES..

The one who began this thread, included in his introduction: "... However, most journals also allow the manuscript type of "Letter to the editor" for readers in the field to reply previously published articles or on special events and issues_ like those once in a lifetime" [highlighting and underscore ADDED, by me]. Yes, I believe I have seen the last category (of Letter types, i.e. "issues") personally and have been grateful. [ Unfortunately, Ethology and Sociobiology will not provide me with a copy of my 1987 Letter; perhaps, some day I will find a draft copy. I also had a second one (in effect) in the Human Ethology Bulletin around the same time (see my "AN ETHOLOGICAL THEORY OF HUMAN LEARNING ..." paper, if interested).

Unfortunately E and S has much more recently dropped the Ethology part -- even from its name! Some "things", even important things, come and go, Letters notwithstanding. ]

Please have a look at the following link for good insight in the

topic:

Article How to write an editorial letter?

Harasit Kumar Paul for our field of research (chemistry) I can say that I do not know of any chemistry journal which has a "letters or answers sections" as described in this article. Thanks for sharing anyway!

Dear Sunny Chi Lik Au and dear all,

In most journals, there are letters or answers sections. Letters to the editor are usually a type of short communication that can be written on any topic that attracts the attention of the readers.

Although articles are stringently vetted before publication in a journal, some issues can still go unnoticed. In this situation, readers can offer their interpretations by writing a letter to the editor.

Thus, letters are also a control mechanism that facilitates progress after an article has been published. One of the most important aspects of a letter to the editor is that it must be short. It is known that a letter is more easily accessible to readers when the message is short and brief.

The letter to the editor or author must make reference to objectives or discussions on medical, scientific, or general topics that may attract attention. A letter must have a purpose, and it should convey its message in a short and definitive fashion.

For more details, you can have a look at the attached article. My Regards

Mohammad Hegazy this may be tru for some journals. However, at least in out field of research (chemistry), most international journals don't publish letters and answers etc. Please find attached the official list of articles types which can be published in the renowned chemical journal Chemical Communications.

Hello Frank T. Edelmann

This is still true for some journals in our field of research (chemistry), most international journals still publish letters and answers, etc.

Please find the attached data from the official list of articles types that can be published in the renowned chemical journal "Chemical Engineering Journal".

https://www.elsevier.com/journals/chemical-engineering-journal/1385-8947/guide-for-authors

Mohammad Hegazy thanks for the interesting information!

I think it the letter to the editor is a very effective for exchanging ideas.

Mariam Chkhartishvili I think that RG is probably the best platform for exchanging ideas besides regular scientific publishing.

I find letter to the editor is a short message with definit target and supprted by references. It may discuss a novel idea or a Debatable Issue that open the door for post publication research articles that study the idea of the letter.

Very informative interaction, thanks colleagues....

Regards,

Emad

In my opinion, a Letter to the Editor is an effective and quick way to communicate about a new concept with the scientific world. The downside is that since it is not considered " original research', it is not counted for faculty promotion.

But that shouldn't deter us from expressing our views on current research issues. Let there be more constructive debates!

Betsy Joseph, I agree with you as far as you went (i.e., by referring to "a new concept"), but sometimes I think it's also valid and valuable to write a letter to the editor of a journal if there are misleading inaccuracies in an article published in that journal.

Of course, that kind of letter needs to be respectful, but I think that too many misleading articles are published, particularly by researchers who want to blow their own trumpets.

Robert Trevethan, Totally agree with you, sir. Thank you for your insightful comments. Researchers need to develop the art of 'critical reading' to identify these misleading inaccuracies in scientific articles.

My answer to this question is quite bold. 'Letter to editor' now-a-days poses much importance in targeting predatory publications, identifying misleading findings in the name of science, expected outcome, roles in policy implications and most importantly, inappropriate modelling and statistical analysis. However, a letter to editor is expected to be written with decency and respect. There are numerous publications these days which lack clarity and quality; most of them are to increase RG score and superficial academic skills.

Robert Trevethan , your opinions are always on target and very particular, sir.

As per my opinion, letter to the editor is a medium to draw attention of the editor to some novel ideas and issues of public importance.

I agree with Nandeeta Samad that numerous publications and even manuscripts rejection from either top journals lacks clarity.

I agree that, Letters to the Editor can be used to publish short research works which do merit a full length paper.

Yes, I regard it as an open opportunity to point to some new ideas and practices in a field.