Q: What does it mean if my manuscript is in the Editor Assigned status for a long time?

The Editor Assigned status typically means that your manuscript has cleared the initial check (for basic aspects such as adherence to the journal’s guidelines and a scope match) and has now been assigned to an Associate Editor (AE). The AE will now check your manuscript for aspects such as the novelty of the research and the quality of the paper and decide whether or not it should go for peer review.

A delay at this stage either means that the AE is not sure of your paper, or more probably, hasn’t even got to reviewing it, possibly because they are busy with other manuscripts and other journal responsibilities. You haven’t mentioned how long it has been since this status update. But if it’s been a month, you could write to the journal to check in.

For other perspectives on this status and delays at this stage, you may refer to these previous queries by other researchers/academics:

• What does the status "Editor Assigned" indicate?
• Why is the status of my paper showing "Editor Assigned" for more than a month?

And for a better understanding of various journal statuses, you may find this handbook useful: A guide to understanding journal statuses

Hope that helps. Hope also that your manuscript moves along the publication path soon. All the best!