Q: Will my manuscript be considered as a duplicate or simultaneous submission?
I submitted my paper to a journal a few months ago. The status stayed at "wait to assign editor" for 3 months. I didn't want to wait, so I sent a mail to the journal for the withdrawal of the paper. I submitted the paper to another journal on the same day. Now, the second journal has accepted my paper. However, when I logged in to the first journal's system, my submission still shows the same status. I am wondering if the editor didn't get my mail. Will this be considered as duplicate submission? What should I do now?
You should ideally have waited for a confirmation from the first journal that your paper has been withdrawn from consideration before submitting it to the second journal. Since you have submitted the paper to the second journal on the same day, this could be considered as a case of simultaneous submission. Simultaneous or concurrent submission is considered an unethical practice.
You should write to the editor of the second journal immediately, thanking him for accepting your paper but requesting him to hold off publication. Explain the situation clearly and honestly. Mention that you had withdrawn your paper from the first journal and submitted it to the second journal on the same day. Explain that the status on the first journal’s system has not changed. State that you will inform them once you have received a confirmation from the first journal that your paper has been withdrawn.
Meanwhile, write to the editor of the first journal informing him of the acceptance of your paper in the second journal and requesting a formal confirmation of the withdrawal of your paper. Once you get this confirmation, you can send it to the editor of the second journal.
To know more about dealing with cases of duplicate submissions, read the following posts:
The journal editor says my paper is a case of duplicate submission. What should I do?
Is publishing the same paper in different languages duplication?
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage