Q: If the status is 'With Editor' for two weeks, will the journal reject it without reviewing?
I submitted my manuscript to a Springer journal a month ago. The status is still 'With Editor' and the status date has been so since two weeks after submission. Does this mean they will reject it before [without] reviewing?
It’s a quality publisher and the status has been ‘With Editor’ for two weeks. Rather than a reject without reviewing (that is, a desk reject), it perhaps means that the editor is busy for various reasons or has certain challenges. As it is a Springer journal, the editor is likely to have several other manuscripts to go through, and so, may not yet have come to yours. Alternatively, if they went through it and found it worthy of being peer reviewed, they may be finding it tough to identify suitable reviewers for the paper.
As it has been only two weeks since the status changed, you could wait for some time, say, two more weeks. If the status doesn’t change by then, you could drop them a mail requesting an update. In case they are finding it challenging to identify peer reviewers and you know of some, you can make some suggestions too.
All the best for whatever’s next!
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This content belongs to the Journal submission & peer review Stage