In our new “how can we help you?” thread, a reader writes:
I have a paper that’s been sitting with a top generalist journal for over a year. Throughout this long wait, I’ve contacted the editor periodically. Each time, I’ve received a polite reply saying they’re still trying to secure reviewers, as everyone they’ve invited has declined. Actually, on two separate occasions during this period, the status has switched to ‘Under Review’ for several months. This leads me to believe that reviewers have accepted the invitation only to drop out later.
I have a couple of theories about why it’s been so difficult. The paper is a bit niche, drawing on a concept from domain B to analyze something in domain A, and there might just be a very small pool of people who feel qualified to review it. It’s also possible that I’ve exhausted the reviewer pool; the paper was rejected from a few other journals before this, so the most obvious candidates may have already reviewed a previous version and aren’t keen to do so again.
So, my question is: After this frustratingly long wait, should I withdraw the paper and try elsewhere? Or should I wait it out for a few more months and see if the journal’s luck changes? My big worry is that withdrawing won’t solve the underlying problem, and I’ll just face the same difficulty finding reviewers at the next journal.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Yikes, a year?? I would probably withdraw, with the hope that another journal will do better. A year just seems to me way too long for this sort of issue to remain unresolved.
What do readers think?
Yup, I was going to write the same thing