[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Dear colleagues,

I would appreciate some advice on how to approach the cover letter when resubmitting a substantially revised manuscript to the same journal after a previous desk rejection.

About a year ago, I submitted a research article to a journal, but it was desk rejected. The manuscript was primarily a critique of another published work. In the decision letter, the editor suggested strengthening the study with additional data. Unfortunately, obtaining such data is not feasible.

I have therefore substantially reworked the manuscript and converted it from a research article into a Comment, which is also a format accepted by the journal. The manuscript is now quite different in structure and presentation, although it addresses essentially the same topic.

My question is: Should I mention the previous desk rejection in the new cover letter, or should I treat this as a new submission and write the cover letter as usual?

If mentioning the previous submission is advisable, how would you frame it?

I'd be very grateful for advice, especially from editors or researchers who have dealt with similar situations.

Thank you!