Tips for Getting Your Manuscript Accepted into ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters

Scientific publications are the culmination of the scientific enterprise, providing the foundation for new hypotheses and technologies. A good paper, written for and by researchers, clearly and convincingly presents the findings of a carefully conducted study to the larger scientific community.

Scientific publications also yield indirect rewards; for example, they may advance a researcher’s career and/or job prospects or result in fruitful new collaborations. Scientific publishing used to be a cumbersome process, but it is now a streamlined and efficient online experience—however, this does not mean that it should be rushed!

In this Editorial, we have compiled a list of tips to improve your chances of a favorable outcome if you are considering submitting your manuscript to ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters. It is our hope that this guide will be useful for prospective authors from a globally diverse and inclusive community.¹

One of the most common reasons for a “desk rejection” (that is, an immediate rejection before a manuscript is sent out for peer review) is a mismatch between the content of the manuscript and the scope of the journal. There are hundreds of reputable journals spanning the entire arena of the chemical sciences, ranging from broad topics to those with a more specific focus, such as ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.

It is crucial that you select the journal that best suits your manuscript. Besides facilitating rapid peer review, this will ensure that your article is appreciated by the appropriate readership. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, for example (and as the name suggests!), focuses on medicinal chemistry, publishing “studies that pertain to a broad range of subject matter, including compound design and optimization, biological evaluation, drug delivery, imaging agents, and pharmacology of both small and large bioactive molecules.”

Authors should always consult the detailed Author Guidelines that are delineated by each journal. They provide valuable instructions listing, for example, how the manuscript should be formatted and the accompanying documentation required for submission. The Author Guidelines for ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, for instance, may be found via this link.

It is also important to consider which manuscript type is most appropriate for your proposed publication. For ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, original research frequently appears as a Letter—a short, peer-reviewed report of original research focused on an individual finding significant to the broad field of medicinal chemistry. On the other hand, Microperspectives are concise, peer-reviewed summaries highlighting key findings on subjects of interest to the medicinal chemistry community, while more general Viewpoints, occasionally invited (but can also be proposed to the Editor-in-Chief) and reviewed only by a journal editor, provide commentaries that explain, analyze, and contextualize emerging topics in the field. Notes are brief, peer-reviewed reports of original research intended for the rapid dissemination of highly notable findings while Technical Notes (also peer-reviewed) describe new “toolbox” innovations that encompass the myriad of technologies, from high-content screening to robotics and parallel synthesis, that characterize modern-day medicinal chemistry.

Another reason that manuscripts are frequently rejected is premature publication; that is, publishing a study too soon. This usually manifests as insufficient data to support the conclusions that are presented. Ideally, sufficient data should be collected via complementary approaches, and authors should take care to ensure that their conclusions follow logically from their observations.

Good scientific publications should be novel. Rejected manuscripts frequently lack originality, meaning that data (in this case, often routine results) are simply tabulated and presented as a laboratory report (what may be called a “data dump”). Authors should check that the work has not been published before and that they are not duplicating existing results, such as including compounds that have already been reported. Ideally, they should show how their findings follow on from existing work.

In medicinal chemistry, a typical reason for manuscript rejection is the failure of authors to provide sufficient experimental detail. The more complete and thorough the data, the better the chance of convincing the reviewers that it is of high enough quality to be published. Details of the synthesis and characterization of all target compounds should be listed in the experimental section of the manuscript, and other experimental details should be reported in the Supporting Information so that all experiments can be replicated. This journal requires, for example, that all novel compounds are isolated in greater than 95% purity as measured by HPLC.

In the case of chemical, biochemical and biological assays, it is important that all appropriate control experiments are included. This includes both positive and negative controls, to safeguard the validity of the assay. In cases where conclusions are not convincingly supported by the data (for example, a failure to show that cellular and/or in vivo effects result from an interaction with the proposed target of the compounds), it is important to propose an alternative explanation. However, one should not speculate or make strong statements that cannot be justified.

The rationale behind the synthesis of novel analogs should be clearly developed. Ideally, any molecular modifications of a reported chemical series should lead to a significantly improved understanding of structure–activity relationships (SARs). The bar is typically higher for a known chemical series; that is, novel chemical or biological approaches will be needed in cases where a chemical series has already been reported. A limited study of the SAR and the inclusion of compounds that have previously been reported or new inhibitors that are only moderately active against a well-established drug target do not make for compelling manuscripts.

Finally, a lack of focus in the manuscript can be a major reason for a rejection. Frequently, authors try to cover too much material in a single paper, meaning that the presentation of the data is scattered and not coherent. Even word choice or phrasing can make a difference—always aim for clarity and proofread your manuscript carefully. Be wary of plagiarism and ensure that your reference list is compiled correctly. For more tips, visit the ACS Quick Style Guide.

In summary, here are our top 10 tips for maximizing the likelihood of your paper appearing in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters:

• 1.Select the most appropriate journal and manuscript type for your publication.
• 2.Scrutinize the journal’s Author Guidelines to ensure that your submission is formatted correctly and contains all the necessary documentation.
• 3.Don’t attempt to publish too soon—make sure that you have sufficient data to support your conclusions.
• 4.Ensure that your manuscript has sufficient novelty and does not duplicate earlier work.
• 5.Scrupulously report all experimental details.
• 6.Make sure that all compounds are adequately characterized.
• 7.For (bio)chemical and biological assays, ensure that all the appropriate control experiments have been included.
• 8.In cases where the data do not support your conclusions, try to explain why this could be the case (without excessive speculation).
• 9.Ensure that there is a good rationale behind your SAR exploration, and that any molecular modifications lead to an improved understanding of a chemical space or series.
• 10.Make sure that your article is focused: what is your main message?

All submissions require a cover letter, and this is your chance to convince the journal editor of the importance of your work. Be concise but take advantage of the opportunity to highlight the value of your manuscript. Finally, if your manuscript submission is unsuccessful, do not be disappointed and do not take it personally. Respect the editor’s and reviewers’ comments, which are normally meant with the best intentions.

Preparing and submitting a manuscript is an integral part of the social and cumulative enterprise of science, creating a public record of original contributions to knowledge. We wish you success in your research and hope to receive your manuscript submission for ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters soon!

Views expressed in this editorial are those of the authors and not necessarily the views of the ACS.