Q: How to proceed if my paper is not assigned to an editor?

The journal publication process is time consuming. The editorial decision making process can take several months to complete. Usually, once a paper is submitted, it goes through an admin check. At this stage, your manuscript is checked by someone from the editorial office to ensure that all the journal guidelines have been followed. Once a paper clears the admin check, it is assigned to an editor. Sometimes, it can also be difficult to find a suitable associate editor for your paper. This process can take up anywhere between a few days to several weeks. There is not much you can do at this stage. Just be patient and keep checking the status every few days. Hopefully, you will see a status change soon. If there is no progress even after a month, you can write to the Editor-in-chief.