In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:
May I ask what to do in this situation? Thanks! My paper has been with a prestigious journal since early January. The editor invited referees in two rounds, in February and March. In early June, I nudged the editor and they looked for referees for another round. It is now mid-July, and either no referee or fewer than two referees have been secured. My two questions:
(1) When would it be appropriate to inquire again? It is summer. People are busy. I do not want to annoy the editor. They appear willing to help but seem to be dealing with an overwhelming workload.
(2) When would you consider withdrawal? Withdrawing now in the summer seems also poorly timed. But at some point, I may have to consider it, given the job market pressure.
Some background information: the topic has a fairly decent number of philosophers currently working on it. The handling editor does not work in this field and may not know the right persons to ask, which may be a small contributing factor here.
Any input will be hugely appreciated!
What do readers think? Personally, unless the journal has already secured 1 referee and they are going to just require one review to reach a verdict, I think I’d probably withdraw at this point. 6 months just seems way too long to me for the paper to basically not be under full review.
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