Dr Cook:cover Letter Writer

cover-letter-writer

1. Overview

cover-letter-writer drafts professional journal submission cover letters. Two modes: standard mode produces a complete cover letter for a first submission to a target journal; revision mode produces the shorter cover letter that accompanies a revised manuscript, referencing the prior review round and summarizing key changes. The module is designed as the final step of the /cook submit pipeline, receiving manuscript context from paper-writer and citation-checker outputs. When upstream context is available, parameters such as target_journal, domain, manuscript_type, key_findings, and raw_text are inherited automatically without re-prompting the user.

2. Parameters

Required

Optional

Parameter collection rule

Inherit all available values from context_output before asking the user. Collect only what remains missing, starting with manuscript_title then target_journal then mode.

3. Workflow

Step 1 — Check upstream context. Inspect context_output before asking the user anything. Extract without re-asking: parameters.target_journal, parameters.domain, parameters.manuscript_type, key_findings, and raw_text. If upstream status is failed, halt. If partial, proceed with a warning.

Language override: Cover letters are almost always written in English regardless of upstream language value. If inherited language is zh, override to en for this module unless the user explicitly specifies language: zh.

Step 2 — Collect missing required parameters. Ask for manuscript_title if absent. Ask for target_journal if not inherited. Ask for mode if unclear: "Is this a first submission (standard) or a resubmission (revision)?" For revision mode only: ask for 1–2 sentences summarizing key changes.

Step 3 — Collect or extract key findings. If key_findings is absent from both user input and context_output, check for raw_text from an upstream module. If present, auto-extract 2–3 key findings and confirm: "I extracted the following findings — please confirm or revise: [findings]." If neither source is available, ask the user for a 2–3 sentence summary of main findings.

Step 4 — Load journal norms. Read references/journal-submission-norms.md. Identify the journal's tier, length expectations, required statements, and suggested reviewer expectations.

Step 5 — Draft the cover letter.

Standard mode (4 paragraphs):

• Opening: "Dear Editor," or "Dear Dr. [Name],"
• Para 1 (2–3 sentences): Submit [manuscript title], type [manuscript type], to [journal name].
• Para 2 (3–5 sentences): Key findings and significance — why this matters to journal readership.
• Para 3 (2–3 sentences): Novelty — what this work adds that prior literature did not address.
• Para 4 (2–3 sentences): Exclusivity, author approval, conflicts of interest. Before prompting the user, scan context_output.raw_text for ethics/IACUC approval details (look for patterns: "approved by", "IRB", "IACUC", "ethics committee", "approval number"). If found, extract and use them directly without asking. For studies involving human participants or animal subjects (any domain including tcm): include ethics/IACUC approval with institution name and number. If manuscript_type is research_article or case_report and the study involves human or animal subjects but no ethics info has been provided, stop and ask: "Please provide your ethics approval number (e.g., IRB #XXXX or IACUC #XXXX) and approving institution before I draft the letter."
• Closing: "We look forward to hearing from you." + "Sincerely," + corresponding author name/email.

Revision mode (3 paragraphs):

• Opening: Reference manuscript ID; "Thank you for the opportunity to revise."
• Para 1 (2–3 sentences): Revised version submitted in response to reviewer comments; name 2–3 key changes.
• Para 2 (2 sentences): Appreciation to reviewers; state that a point-by-point response is enclosed.
• Closing: Same as standard.

Step 6 — Present output and offer iteration. Display the complete cover letter. Then ask: "Would you like me to adjust the tone, add a suggested reviewer block, or translate to Chinese?"

4. Output Format

No [Module: ...] header — cover letters must read as actual professional letters.

[Date]

The Editorial Office
[Journal Name]

Dear Editor,

[Para 1 — Submission statement: 2–3 sentences]

[Para 2 — Key findings and significance: 3–5 sentences]

[Para 3 — Novelty statement: 2–3 sentences]

[Para 4 — Declarations: exclusivity, author approval, COI, and ethics if applicable]

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
[Corresponding Author Name]
[Email]

[Word count: 287]

• No bullet points within the letter body. All content is prose.
• Date line: [Date] placeholder unless the user provides an actual date.
• Address block uses journal-specific format from journal-submission-norms.md or generic The Editorial Office, [Journal Name].
• Word count at end: [Word count: NNN]. Word count includes all text from the opening salutation through the closing signature block; exclude the date line, address block, and the [Word count: NNN] line itself.

5. context_output

Reads from upstream

Writes to output

{
  "module": "cover-letter-writer",
  "summary": "Standard cover letter for Nature Medicine, research article, TCM domain",
  "raw_text": "<complete cover letter text>",
  "parameters": {
    "target_journal": "<journal name>",
    "mode": "standard | revision",
    "manuscript_type": "research_article | review | case_report | letter | other",
    "domain": "<domain or null>",
    "language": "en | zh"
  },
  "status": "success | partial | failed",
  "error_message": "string | null"
}

Downstream readers of raw_text: english-polisher, chinese-polisher.

6. References

See references/ for:

• journal-submission-norms.md — Journal tier classifications, cover letter length expectations, required statement templates, suggested reviewer format, and common cover letter mistakes