Q: Why did the status change straight from 'With Editor' to 'Decision in Process' for my Elsevier submission?

We can sense your agitation, though with the ellipsis (…) at the end, we can also sense a bit of hope. :-)

However, given that it’s an Elsevier journal (in other words, a well-established, reputed one) and the fact that the status changed so quickly to ‘Decision in Process,’ it may unfortunately be a desk-rejection. On the hopeful side though, sometimes, the Editor-in-Chief (EiC), who makes the final decision on the manuscript, may overturn the decision by the associate editor (AE), who makes the initial decision. At times, they may feel that some other journal in the Elsevier family of journals may be a better fit for your manuscript and ask you to submit there instead. So, you should definitely wait for the final decision.

In case it’s a desk reject though, here’s what we would suggest:

• You may make relevant changes based on any feedback you get from here and submit to another journal.
• You may consider submitting to our new AI-powered platform, R Pubsure, which helps you minimize the chances of a desk reject. It does this by performing machine-based checks on your manuscript, allowing you to improve your manuscript and make it submission-ready. Once your manuscript is good to go, the platform also allows you to showcase your improved manuscript to multiple journal editors, one of whom may consider it for publishing with their journal. You could find out more about the platform here: R Pubsure

You may also find it worthwhile to go through the following resources:

• Does a direct 'Decision in Process' status indicate rejection?
• Most common reasons for journal rejection
• Keep calm and wait: A guide to understanding journal statuses [Handbook]
• 7 Secrets to help you build academic resilience

Hope that helps. And all the best for whichever way things go!