cover-letterlisted

# Cover Letter ## Core Rule A cover letter is an **honest, calibrated pitch to the editor**, not a sales sheet. It states what the paper contributes, why that fits *this* venue, and why it matters — using only what the manuscript actually establishes. **Never assert significance the paper does not establish.** "First study of X" is allowed only if the manuscript defends it; "a major advance," "dramatically outperforms," or a invented effect size is overclaim, and overclaim in the cover letter is the editor's first signal to distrust the paper. Every number in the letter (tool-call accuracy, task-success delta, sample size) comes from the manuscript's own reported results — never your prior, never rounded up. If the manuscript flags a quantity as `[VALUE — verify]`, the letter does not quote it; it waits. The letter is downstream of the science, never ahead of it. This skill drafts the letter. It does not change the thesis, the contribution, or any reported quantity — those are Protected Claims (`CLAUDE.md → Protected Claims`). ## When to Use Invoke with `/cover-letter` when: - A manuscript is submission-ready and the venue requires a cover letter to the editor. - Resubmitting after rejection elsewhere, or submitting a revision that needs a fresh letter. - You want the contribution and fit argument stated tightly before the final push. State the venue if it differs from the map: `/cover-letter NeurIPS`. Otherwise read it from `MANUSCRIPT_MAP.md → Target journal`. ## P