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Q: How can I withdraw my paper without offending the journal editor?
I have submitted my paper to a journal, but after that, one of the co-authors made an objection regarding the contents. I had received only a verbal agreement from him/her before submission.
The manuscript is currently under editorial check and has not yet been sent for peer review. The co-author seems to think that this paper does not comply with authorship guidelines, and he/she has another target journal in mind.
Under the current circumstances, I think it is best to withdraw the paper. How can I make a request for withdrawal without offending the Editor? How can I make the Editor who reviewed our paper understand our situation? It is a shame for me to cause such a situation, but your advice would be highly appreciated.
You should have been more cautious and obtained written approval from all the co-authors before submitting the manuscript. However, withdrawing your manuscript at this stage should not be a problem as it has not yet been sent for peer review. You can write to the editor saying that due to some disagreement between the co-authors, you are compelled to withdraw the manuscript. You should also apologize for any inconvenience that you may have caused.
You will find a template for a withdrawal letter in this post: How to write a withdrawal letter to the journal
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage