Taking into account the context of the main question of the thread, a message to the editor informing him/her of your intention to withdraw the manuscript after a while, seems to be a good idea.

From July to April is a long time, indeed. I have - actually - waited that long, twice, but I believe they were from more than 15 years or so ago, when everything was handled over physical mail.

I have not withdrawn a manuscript, but I have asked the handling editor rather harshly why it need to take a year. It usually is enough to get the editor slightly uneasy, and check why the proceedings are stalling. Try e-mailing, and see what happens.

painful...had this a few times also...I wrote once to the publisher expressing that the editors are incapable. That was once helpful. But...maybe just submit it to another journal.

I have just experienced some thing like that also. Submitted in April 2018, and then finally published in March 2020. I just sent email every two months to get an update of my manuscript. What makes me surprise is that the editorial still use email instead of editorial manager. It is a SCI indexed Journal and from a reputable and famous publisher.

Just try to send email to editor. Give it a time, and if there's no progress, do not waste your time again, and submit it to other journal with faster response.

I think you can check the response of a journal from their published paper. We can see submitted date, revised date, and accepted date in the article.

Kind regards,

Thank you for sharing your experiences and your answers.

Although, we already requested information on the status of our manuscript several times (and got quick responses that they will check), I guess we try again and hope to get more information this time.

send an email to the editor ask for the status of your manuscript and what makes it take so long? if no response send another email asking to withdraw you manuscript and submit it to another journal

I believe you should follow the status of your manuscript. If no action has been taken, then try to submit your manuscript to another good journal.

Hi, Dr. Claudia Mair-Bauernfeind I guess the same happened to many of us. Since you are getting replies, you may reciprocate your intention to withdraw the manuscript. It is always better than wasting time. I believe other reputed journals from your field will be proactive and process your manuscript in due course.

Dear Claudia Mair-Bauernfeind, waiting for ten months after submission without any response is definitively unacceptable! Normally the reviewers are given 2-3 weeks to write their reviews. Reputable journals then respond to the authors within 2-3 months. I would try to contact the Editor-in-Chief directly via e-mail and ask him /her what the problem is with your submission. We have never withdrawn a submission. I only remember one case where we also waited ca. 1 1/2 years. The manuscript had simply been forgotten....

Yes, Please move-on.

Taking into account the context of the main question of the thread, a message to the editor informing him/her of your intention to withdraw the manuscript after a while, seems to be a good idea.

I support the idea about withdrawing your manuscript, and submiting it in other journal 🙂

The journal should be informed of the withdrawal of the article, and then resubmitted to another journal.

Has anyone ever withdrawn a submission? Yes, once.

Withdraw and go to another journal

Useful answer Dear Vishnu Kumar Gupta

If it is very reputed journal then wait and email to main editorial board members of that journal by constant hammering and write the problem. Otherwise withdraw it and submit to another journal. Same thing I did for my two manuscripts at last it was published but took 1 to 1and 1/2 years

Satish Kumar Sinha in the case of a reputed journal, the paper should better be withdrawn. In the case of a reputable journal, Claudia Mair-Bauernfeind can certainly follow your advice! 😎

Dears Satish Kumar Sinha and Frank T. Edelmann , I agree with you.

We can get an idea about the status of the paper. If it is still at the editor it should be withdrawn but it is under review, it is better to wait so as not to waste time. Because you can withdraw it and submit it to another journal and fall into the same problem.

Try to the next journal opportunity.... Claudia Mair-Bauernfeind

It happened frequently with most of persons.. But You have to search certain journals that are responding in definite periods

Delays in the editorial decision making process are quite common. This is a system that mainly works on the honorary service of peer reviewers and editors who are already engaged in other full-time professions. I think should wait patiently for 4-6 weeks. In my opinion that 4-6 weeks may be some stressful for author as paper has been with the journal. journals to don't take more than 02 months from submission to first decision.

Claudia Mair-Bauernfeind

Dear Researcher,

If the a journal does not respond to you, You always have the choice to retrieve your submission. But when you do so, please communicate to the concerned person/ s through mails. That will help you to document your communication. In case of any future problem, you can always refer back to the documented communication.

I would suggest you to find out another journal after you withdraw your submission. I have most of the time got my articles published where my colleagues and co-authors had published previously. That helped me to get prior information about the smoothness of the operational procedures of that journal. You may also try out this policy. But, let me also tell you that this policy prevents you from being experimental with your publications.

Thank you.

Best regards,

Anamitra Roy.

In such a case I would call them and tell that I will submit my paper to another journal

Dear Researcher,

If you don't receive any communication from the journal, better you try to find out another suitable journal for your publication.

Communicate with them to know the reason and if again they don't respond to your queries, finally convey them that you are retrieving back your paper and send it to another suitable journal.

I do not understand what you mean by 'Journal does not respond to your submission'. Is that possible? It's all a function of time because I know they will, eventually. Because they just have to, if they want you to move forward. What you do if you feel the response is taking an awful length of time to arrive, is to write to them to remind them of your submission and query its status with the journal. Sometimes, submissions are sent to reviewers who do not check their mails frequently. At other times submissions are sent to reviewers but find their ways into spam, trash or unread folders. Very many people I know rarely open these folders to check mails. It happened to me once. So, just talk to the journal again and make some suggestions if they claim your submission had been sent to reviewers. Be patient and take note. If you are not a patient person, then avoid such journals. Very good Elsevier, Taylor & Francis and Springer journals will respond 70 days max. So, choosing your journals carefully is the other real thing to do.

I think you can send a gentle reminder via email and possibly call them. This could be helpful. Then, if there is no response from them, you can later inform them about your intention to withdraw your submission. However, you need to be careful in the choice of journal in future.

@ Claudia Mair-Bauernfeind , was your submission acknowledged earlier by the journal? If yes, then I recommend @ Oludoyin Adeseun Adigun suggestion.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Maurice Ekpenyong just to clarify: I was notified that my submission is under review but than I heard nothing for at least 8 month. In other words, I have not received a reply concerning a decision on publication.

Frank T. Edelmann thank you for asking. After contacting the editor-in-chief of the journal directly by e-mail, we received a decision on the publication of our submission shortly afterwards. Contacting the editor-in-chief (and not just the section editor) and being patient is probably the best strategy in such a situation.

You should not work with such a log!

I agree with @nuresh

Very tough question ..

Happened many times...

Waiting and waiting ...

In such a case without hesitation I would send the paper to another journal and send a short note to the first editor that you are no more interested in his journal for publication.

For an international journal, the evaluation process usually varies between 2-6 months. However, some journals state that there are too many articles and that the process may take longer. However, even if it is expected for a long time, your chances of publishing in these journals may crease.

Mr.Jean-Pierre Jost is exactly right.

Anna Ebers Broughel