Q: Can I inquire with the editorial office if my manuscript's status hasn't changed for 5 months?
I submitted a manuscript to a journal, and the status has not changed from “Under Review” for 3 months, so I made an inquiry to the editorial office about the status. I got a reply saying “Your manuscript is still under review. Since that is out of our control, it may take some more time for the review process. Please let us know if you have any question until you get a result of review”.
It is past 2 months since then, but the status still remains unchanged. In order to get the review process expedited, can I ask again the editorial office to confirm what “out of control” means, and if I can expect the review process to progress?
Most journals take 2 to 3 months to provide a review of a manuscript. While there are several journals that take more than 3 months, 5 months is an exceptionally long time. You can definitely write to the journal once again to get an update on your manuscript. In your email, you must emphasize that the status of the manuscript has not changed since the past 5 months.
You can find a template on how to write an inquiry to the journal editor in this article:
How do I write an inquiry to the editor about my manuscript's current status?
You might also like to read the following post:
What should I do if the review process is delayed and the editor is unresponsive?
Related reading:
This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage