Q: What can I do if the journal is delaying the publication of my article?
I sent my paper to International Journal of Oncology. One month later, I was advised that it could be accepted by Oncology Letters and I submitted to the journal following the advice. Then I received an email which informed me that it was accepted, but nothing happened after that. I have inquired several times, but only to receive always the same reply to say “please wait 5 months at least”. Now 1 year and 2 months have passed. Is there anything I can do except waiting?
Your question is not very clear. Has your paper gone through peer review at Oncology Letters? Have you received a letter from the editor stating that your paper has been accepted for publication? If you have received such an email or letter, then I would suggest that you wait. The journal is a reputable one, and will definitely publish your paper. Meanwhile, you can write to the editor inquiring the reason for the delay in publication and also asking in which issue of the journal you can expect the paper to be published.
However, if you have not received an official letter of acceptance, and if your paper is going through the journal review process, then you could consider withdrawing the paper. For this, you should write an email to the journal stating that you wish to withdraw your paper since you cannot wait any longer. You should ask the editor to provide a confirmation of withdrawal. Once you receive the editor's confirmation, you can submit the paper to another journal. It would be a good idea to choose a rapid publication journal the next time. That way, your paper will not take so long to get published.
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This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage