Instructions for Authors
Readers may submit an eletter response through their account in Cambridge Core and their name and affiliation, as registered with that Cambridge Core account, will be included with the response. ELetters may be submitted online as responses to published articles by navigating to the eLetters tab when viewing an article online and selecting ‘Submit a response’.
All eLetters will be screened by the Correspondence Editor or Editor-in-Chief prior to publication online and may be rejected if the content is considered inappropriate or requires further attention. Please note that submission of an eLetter response does not guarantee its publication and we reserve the right not to publish an eLetter or to remove it following publication at our absolute discretion for any reason, including where there is any reason to believe that the eLetter is in breach of these guidelines.
ELetter authors remain responsible for the accuracy of their comment. We reserve the right to amend eLetters for any reason, before or after publication, including to correct or update any inaccuracies in an eletter.
If approved, accepted eLetters will appear online on the journal’s website. At the point of publication, an automatic email will be sent to the commenter and the authors of the article in question will be invited to submit a response.
Please note that we will process your personal data in connection with any eLetter submitted in accordance with our privacy notice.
Guidance on the Content of an eLetter
ELetters should be respectful of other contributors and individuals. They should be constructive, factual, and measured in tone. We encourage commenters to avoid quickfire responses and take time to consider their words.
They may be up to 500 words in length (excluding references) and with a maximum of five references. They should relate specifically to the content of the article in question. General comments regarding the Journal will not be published online and should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief and sent via email to the journal’s mailbox.
All eLetters must include a Declaration of Interest statement detailing all conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest are situations that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on an author’s presentation of their work. They may include, but are not limited to, financial, professional, contractual or personal relationships or situations. Conflicts of interest do not necessarily mean that an author’s work has been compromised. Authors should declare any real or perceived conflicts of interest in order to be transparent about the context of their work. If the eLetter has multiple authors, the author submitting the eLetter must include a Declaration of Interest statement relevant to all contributing authors. Readers aged 16 or under should obtain the permission of a parent or guardian before submitting an eLetter for publication.
We won’t publish eletters that we consider inappropriate. This may include but is not limited to:
- language that is incomprehensible, gratuitously rude, offensive, inflammatory or provocative (this includes, but is not limited to, swearing and obscene or vulgar comments).
- comments that are malicious or offensive in nature or constitute a personal attack on a person’s character.
- comments that may have a materially adverse effect on the reputation, interests or standing of the Journal, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and/or Cambridge University Press.
- comments for party political purposes.
- comments that contain material which the reader does not have permission to use in the eLetter.
- comments that break the law. This may include: libel, condoning illegal activity, contempt of court, breach of intellectual property rights etc. Comments that may incite hatred on the basis of race, religion, gender, nationality or sexuality or other personal characteristic.
- comments that contain personal information such as private addresses, phone numbers, email addresses or other online contact details, which may relate to the commenter or other individuals.
- comments that contain individual and recognisable patient details.
- the commercial endorsement or promotion of any product, service or publication.
- original data unless it Is the author’s own and clearly stated as not peer-reviewed or, if it has been previously published, a full citation.
By submitting your eLetter you are agreeing to our full eLetter requirements as detailed above and granting us an irrevocable, royalty free right to publish and republish your eLetter.
You also confirm that you have all necessary rights and permissions to grant us permission to use your eLetter in this way and agree to waive any rights in the eLetter and/or regarding any form of monetary or other compensation for our use of the eLetter.