My boss submitted my paper to a journal, but he seemed to make a mistake when he entered the authors' names in the submission form. Another one was registered as the first author, so I'd like him to correct it immediately, but in general, when can we apply for a change of authorship after submission? The paper is now under review but should we wait until after the peer review?
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6Was it really a mistake, or intentional?– Jon CusterCommented Apr 15 at 15:46
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1Actually I don't know, but he said he may have made a mistake and he would contact the journal in a good timing.I thought "the timing is NOW" though.– GlenCommented Apr 15 at 16:23
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1) was it intentionally from your boss? 2) are you confusing first and corresponding author?– EarlGreyCommented Apr 16 at 12:03
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@EarlGrey 1) I don't know. If it's just a problem of the submission form, I wouldn't mind so much. But he wrote that (my paper's title) was co-authored by my name and co-authored names in the cover letter. It makes me so confused. 2) No.– GlenCommented Apr 16 at 17:06
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4 Answers
I don't think this is anything worth panicking over. It should be dealt with after the first round of peer review. To change it now the paper would have to be unsubmitted, then resubmitted halting the peer review and annoying everyone involved.
Presumably the error, as you describe it, is not on the manuscript itself, but rather in the editorial manager where authors and institution details are entered. Those can be cleared up after reviewer comments come in when you submit the revisions... or the article may be rejected, at which point you have other things to worry about.
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I'm relieved a bit.In the cover letter, he wrote like "(my paper's title) was co-authored by my name and other co-authors' names. I also found this.It makes me confused though.I just expect he will correct after peer review.In the manuscript, the order of authors is correct.– GlenCommented Apr 16 at 2:25
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"To change it now the paper would have to be unsubmitted, then resubmitted halting the peer review and annoying everyone involved." I think you are downplaying the formal aspects and the editor power.– EarlGreyCommented Apr 16 at 12:01
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@EarlGrey If the author list is correct in the attached draft, and it is simply a mistake in the editorial manager process, it is not worth bothering an editor over. It is a simple matter that can be resolved later. To be resolved by the authors it has to be unsubmitted and resubmitted, to be resolved by the editor it requires the editor's time and effort. The latter can be done at any point prior to publication, but why bother before the editor even knows if the manuscript is suitable for publication?– R1NaNoCommented Apr 16 at 14:59
There are potentially shady reasons to change authorship or author order: paid solicitations to add authors for a fee, to punish a student for some reason, making a power play around an authorship dispute, etc. Your situation isn't any of these, but editors have to be wary and do not want to involve themselves in disputes about authorship.
My recommendation would be for the authors to inform the editor as soon as the mistake is recognized and ask how you should proceed. You might be explicit that it's only necessary to correct before the final publication but that you wanted the editor to be aware of the mistake; there's really no need for an immediate correction of anything. It would be helpful to note that the authorship order on the manuscript itself is correct and only the order in the submission software is mistaken.
However, it's not you that should be making this communication but the group of authors as a whole. The person designated to communicate with the editor on behalf of the other authors is usually the person who submitted the manuscript, in this case your boss. As long as you have a commitment from them (strategically, it would be ideal to have this in writing for example as an email if you suspect you will need some sort of 'evidence', though hopefully this is unnecessary), I wouldn't worry too much about leaving the correction until later. It may become moot if the paper is rejected by this journal.
answered Apr 16 at 14:31
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I'll wait for my boss to correct it later, and I'll store all emails about this problem just in case. Like I said above, if it's just a mistake in the submission form, I wouldn't mind so much. But he wrote that my paper's title was co-authored by my name and co-authored names in the cover letter. I don't know how much it can affect the authorship or what he was going to do.– GlenCommented Apr 16 at 17:19
It is a bit a tricky thing to do, because at submission there are all ticks and boxes to check to claim that the submission is correct and fully agreed by all the authors.
However, the editor has some flexibility and can do a lot behind the curtains.
There are a couple of questions in the comment, when answered negatively then the best way is to go full-in with the editor, first you should agree with all co-authors about the needed urgent correction and then send an email (with all co-authors in cc) to the editor about correcting the first author in the submission.
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Thank you for your comment. Cc all co-authors must be needed.Actually, is it possible to change the authorship by writing different information on the submission form and the cover letter？– GlenCommented Apr 16 at 17:28
You can absolutely wait until after the peer review process is completed. If the reviews are favorable, great! Change your authorship status then. If the reviews are not favorable, that will be your opportunity - from here on out - to ensure that all details are correct/updated prior to any future submissions.
