Q: What will happen if I can't submit an article to a journal that has already accepted my abstract?

Detailed Question -

How bad can it be for my reputation or what is expected of me after failing to submit? I’m not facing a technical problem. Actually, I have not been able to finish the article and submit it on time.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

We deeply relate to your concern. As we understand it, you’re still working on the full paper and will not be able to complete and submit it by the given deadline. This is not an uncommon occurrence, and there may be several reasons for requiring more time to complete a submission. Ideally, you should contact the journal editor you’ve been corresponding with soon after you receive the deadline and let them know that you will need an extension on the submission deadline, clarifying the reason for the delay. You should also propose a new deadline that you’re sure you can meet.

The response to such a request varies from journal to journal. Some are okay with a delayed submission, while others may require that you submit the manuscript as a new submission.

Here are a couple of other questions which you might find helpful:

For help with writing to the journal, you may find this handbook useful: 

The handbook is available on the R Upskill platform which is a sister brand and hosts learning courses created exclusively for researchers. 

We have not addressed the part about reputation, since we can't be sure about that. If you are concerned about the delay affecting your chances of publishing with the journal in the future, we would say proper clarification and timely communication with the journal may help.

Hope this helped. All the very best for your research!