Is it possible to resubmit a manuscript to the same journal by a different author?

Question

I received a response from the editor in chief saying that he cannot recommend my manuscript for publication. But he encourages me to address all the 4 reviewers' comments and resubmit a substantial revision.

The manuscript was submitted the first time by the "second" author who used to be my PHD supervisor 2 years ago. Actually, i am the first author of this manuscript and would like to resubmit it by myself to the same journal. Is it possible to do that ?

I will keep the same authors and the same order as the previous version.

PS : I finished my PHD 2 years ago.

Why do i want to be the corresponding author ?

I have done all the job regarding this manuscript : writing, idea, simulations and corrections. During my PHD, I had too much troubles with my PHD supervisor. He even told me one time that if he modifies my manuscript he could put himself as the first author. When I finished writing my manuscript, he offered his help to submit it to the journal in order to save time (because I had a full time job in a company). I accepted but told him to send me every update regarding the publication process. He didn't do that and didn't answer my emails. He waited 4 months to submit it without any modification or correction. Actually, he tried to delay the submission as much as possible so I give up asking about my manuscript.
Now, he is asking me to send him the corrections but this time I want to take in charge the resubmission to the journal.

Answer 1

As far as the journal is concerned, your paper was declined (if I understood you correctly) and the next submission will be treated as a separate paper (even though the journal may know it's a new iteration of an old paper and it may still get the same associate editor and reviewers). This paper may have different authors, substance, or whatever -- it's a completely different manuscript, so anything goes. Whoever does the "submitting" is not important: in some places papers are still submitted by departmental admins who have no other relationship with the authors.

Having said that, from your personal perspective, the situation is tough. It's really the conflict with your advisor and how you can resolve it. Perhaps your advisor now thinks that the paper needs substantial improvement and that's why he wants to retain control of it. He probably thinks that there's something good in it (that's why he wouldn't just remove his name from the list of authors and allow you to do whatever you want with it), but at the same time, he may see some issues, so he also doesn't want to have it published in its current form. This situation is as old as the academic world, and the only peaceful resolution is to somehow settle your personal conflict to the level where you can productively collaborate on the paper.

Answer 2

If the advisor has a valid claim on authorship it would be misconduct to remove them as an author. Probably plagiarism. The journal would object if it knows, which it might, due to the earlier submission.

I think you would be wise to work this out with your advisor: who is author, what order, etc. It they decide to let you publish as a sole author you still need to give them an acknowledgement.

Who submits is much less important than the authorship question. That is more an administrative question than one of conduct. The only real issue is keeping some sort of good relations with the advisor (if possible).

Answer 3

There's clearly a conflict of interest here and it might clearly affect your reputation (if by chance, not your academic profile/publication). However, the way out will be to either ask your advisor to submit it or solve this matter with him first.

Then and only then, the matter of resubmission is to be taken into consideration.

If you're resubmitting to the same journal, it is best to address all the concerns raised by the authors during the rejection of the article when you submitted earlier. That in essence, gives EIC an understanding of your positive intent in improving the paper to a newer version. Although, it does not necessarily guarantee the chances of the paper getting accepted. But it surely is a best practice.

Even if you're to submit to any other journal and you already feel that the concerns raised by the reviewers earlier were up to the mark and in the best interest of your paper. Even in that case, it'll be great to address each concern one by one and improve the paper which will surely positively affect the paper and its acceptance chances.