Q: How do I write a letter to the editor around a subject?

A letter to the editor, abbreviated as either LTTE or LTE, is a short piece of communication written to a journal on a topic of interest to the author and within the scope of the target journal. It is often a comment or critique of a previously published piece in the journal. In such cases, the letter is sent by the editor to the author(s) of the published piece for their response, and the letter and the response are usually published together. Sometimes, it can also be a submitted manuscript, which the editor believes would work better as an LTTE/LTE. This is because the editor feels the content in the manuscript isn’t sufficient (on several parameters) to publish as a research article.

In any case, like research articles, LTTE/LTEs have guidelines for writing and submission. You may refer to your target journal for their guidelines. For instance, those for The New England Journal for Medicine (NEJM) are linked here. Like research articles again, LTTE/LTEs are reviewed, although the review process isn’t as rigorous or lengthy as an article. It is typically reviewed by the editor alone and is usually completed within a few days.

Related reading:

• Should letters to the editor be checked for factual accuracy before publication?
• What does a status change from "With Editor" to "Decision in process" mean in case of my letter to the editor?
• Should I withdraw my manuscript if the journal editor recommends it to be submitted as Letter to Editor?