Q: Would it be rude to send an email to the editor urging the publication of my paper after its acceptance?

Firstly, congrats on the acceptance! We understand it has not been published yet, but acceptance is just one step short of publishing – and a big step. So, again, congrats for that! :-)

Coming to your query, it might have been “rude” if you had written to them soon after the acceptance, but it’s now about four months since acceptance. So, rather than “rude,” it’s very reasonable to write to them to check on the publishing status. In fact, you have been a bit late in checking with them; you should have checked within a month or so of acceptance, but that’s okay.

So, you can write to them without further delay. Ask them about the status, and if it helps, what is causing the delay. You can also mention your academic dependency (needing to submit the publication number to the university by next month) for having the paper published within a certain time period.

If needed, you may refer to the following handbook that provides templates for journal communication. In particular, you may find Lectures 6 and 7 useful. Learn more about the handbook here: A practical handbook of templates for communicating with the journal

For more information, you may also refer to the following similar queries by other researchers:

• What can I do if the journal is delaying the publication of my article?
• What can I do if the review of my paper that I need for graduation is delayed?

Hope that helps. And hope your manuscript is published soon!