Three months with no news from the journal: should I write to the editor?

Short answer: I recommend that you do not chase. In most situations, let the journal work at its own speed.

Several of my course alumni recently reported the same thing. After the new impact factors were published, higher-ranked traditional journals rejected manuscripts soon after the authors sent a reminder. Some of those manuscripts had reviewers who thought the paper was good and needed only minor changes, yet the editor wrote a few quick comments saying the research direction was not important, and rejected it without even offering a revision.

Look at it from the editor's side. Your email costs the editor time, and the editor has two options. One is to look at your paper quickly and carefully, send comments, then spend more time on your revision weeks later, and perhaps get another reminder after that. The other is to reject it, write two or three reasons, and be done. If you were an editor who had just finished a day of clinical work and had to get home to help your children with homework, you would probably choose the second option too.

Rejecting your paper also costs a traditional journal almost nothing. A print journal can publish only a limited number of papers a year, perhaps 300 to 500, and it may have 3,000 to 5,000 submissions to choose from. Its income comes from society budgets and sponsorship, not from any single manuscript.

The review is too slow and I need the paper for promotion. What now?

Prevention is better than cure. Do your homework before you submit. Many authors never check how fast a journal reviews; they submit on an impression and then get stuck for months. If you have only this one paper and a promotion review in six months, that is a painful position.

If you are under real time pressure, consider journals that review and reject quickly and publish their review times. Such journals decide quickly, and when they reject, they reject quickly too, so your time is not held hostage.

If you already submitted to a traditional journal on your mentor's advice and time is running out, then write the email. If the journal speeds up, you are fortunate. If it rejects, at least you can prepare the next submission. Choose the next journal more carefully.

When is it reasonable to chase?

First find out how long the journal usually takes. Some journals publish this on their website. If not, take the most recent issue, pick three papers at random, and compare the submitted, first-decision and accepted dates. Average them. Then wait about 1.5 times the typical time before you write. If the journal averages three months to a first decision, write at four and a half months.

The reason is that editors know their own speed. If the journal averages three months and you write at two, the editor's instinct is, "Why the hurry? If you really belonged to our academic community you would know we work at this pace." The chance of rejection rises. If the journal averages one month and you write at one and a half, the editor will more likely think, "Sorry about the delay, let me push this along."

If there is no response, when can I write again?

Wait half of the previous interval. For example, if you wrote at three months and the reply did not change the status, write again after another month and a half. Be aware that you can annoy the editor. That is another reason to avoid such journals next time, or to plan six months to a year for them from the start.

If my mentor insists, how should the email read?

Never use a questioning or critical tone. Use the tone of "How can I help?" The core of the email:

Dear Editor, I am the first author of manuscript number [ID], titled "[title]". I am also a loyal reader of your journal. [If you publish often, say you are a frequent author; if you review often, say you are a senior reviewer. Journals value contribution to their own academic community.] We submitted the manuscript on [date]. [N] days have passed and the status has remained at [status]. We checked and found that your journal's usual processing time is about [N] days; we are now at about [X] times that. We would like to ask whether there is anything we can do to help the review, such as providing further data or explanation. We would be glad to help. Thank you for your time. We look forward to continuing to contribute to your academic community.

Even with a courteous email, be prepared: an editor who does not need your paper may quickly reject it. If you can accept that risk, go ahead.