In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:
I would be very grateful for advice about a revise-and-resubmit situation.
A paper I submitted to a well-regarded philosophy journal has gone through more than one round of revisions. After the most recent decision, one referee recommended acceptance, while another thought the paper had improved but requested further substantial revisions. I completed and submitted the revised version at the end of last year. Since then, the manuscript status has remained at “Editor assigned”. About a month ago, I sent a polite status inquiry through the journal’s submission system, but I have not received a reply.
I am now trying to think clearly about what to do next. In an ordinary case, if a paper had been sitting for this long with no update and no response to an inquiry, I might start considering withdrawing and submitting elsewhere. But because this is already a later-stage R&R at a reasonably prestigious journal, withdrawing feels risky: I may be giving up a real chance at acceptance and starting over from scratch elsewhere.
So my questions are: How long is it reasonable to wait in a case like this? At what point, if any, would it be appropriate to send a second inquiry, perhaps to the editorial office rather than only through the handling editor? And when, if ever, does it make sense to withdraw a paper from a good journal after multiple rounds of revision because of prolonged silence?
I would especially appreciate hearing from people who have been in similar situations, either as authors, referees, or editors.
I suppose it could be that the paper has been sent out to reviewers but has not been updated within the system–but it is concerning that the journal didn’t respond to a polite inquiry.
What do readers think?
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