Q: What should I do if my paper is showing "With editor" for two months?
My paper has been submitted to a journal 2 months ago. Till date, the status is "With editor". I have sent 3 different mails to the editor inquiring when I can expect it to be under review but I did not get any response. According to Elsevier statistics, this journal takes 5 weeks for the first decision. What should I do?
The journal decision-making process is time consuming, ranging anywhere between a few weeks to several months, depending on factors such as publication frequency, subject area of study, etc.
The status “With editor” implies that no reviewers have as yet accepted the invitation to review the manuscript. This could happen because of many reasons. If the manuscript has a niche subject area, it might be difficult to find reviewers. Since you have already emailed the journal editor thrice, I would recommend emailing the help support at Elsevier as well as the editor once again. You can wait a few more weeks.
If you still do not receive any response, you can consider withdrawing the manuscript from the journal. However, be aware of the fact that submission to a new journal will mean starting the entire process from scratch once again.
Related reading:
- What does the status "Under editor evaluation" mean for Elsevier journals?What should I do if my paper is showing "under editor evaluation" for over a month?
- What to do if there is no change in status for 2 months and editor does not respond to emails?
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage