Manuscript Withdrawal

Q: How do I write a polite email for withdrawing a reviewed manuscript?

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I sent an email requesting the withdrawal of the manuscript after the peer review. The editor requested me to rewrite the email. I understand that I should express gratitude to the editor and the reviewer for putting in their time and other resources and also explain in detail the reason for wishing to withdraw the manuscript. I am presently withdrawing the manuscript due to a shortage of time. However, I am thinking of submitting the revised manuscript after performing a new experiment and study in the future. Can you let me know how to write an appropriate email in this situation?

Asked by Akemi Iwaki on 13 Mar, 2020

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It is unfortunate that you are needing to withdraw your manuscript after the peer review. As you have stated yourself, the journal has put in some time and resources for the review, and these efforts will presently go in vain. However, your reason – to include a new experiment – sounds valid; you are obviously keen on submitting a robust paper, even if it takes a bit more time. Also, it seems that the new content will take more time that any extension the journal can allow you for the revision. In which case, it also means that you are quite conscious of estimating, planning, and scheduling time, which is a good sign as a researcher.

Now, the editor may have asked you to rewrite the mail as you may not have expressed everything clearly the first time. Also, they may wish to keep it as a record for future reference and to archive the present manuscript.

While you already seem to know what to write in the mail this time, here are some pointers.

You could begin by thanking them for sending the manuscript for peer review and for completing one round of review.
You could say how you found their comments valuable and how they made you think that you need additional time for making the changes.
You could then say that you believe these changes will take you more time than is permitted by the journal. However, presently, you don’t have enough time for a variety of reasons. (You may mention some of these reasons, if they aren’t too personal.)
Then, you could talk about the plan for the changes, such as the new experiment you talked about. You could also provide an estimated timeline for completing this, and therefore, the time for completing all the updates to the paper. This will convey your clarity on the changes to the editor.
Finally, you could provide an assurance that you do not plan to submit the paper elsewhere. The journal may be quite interested in your paper. Communicating your assurance will not only reassure them, but also reflect publication integrity on your part.