Question
Asked 3rd Apr, 2022

Is my manuscript stuck in Lancet or are they pondering over a decision?

I submitted my manuscript to one of the Lancet Journals. The status remained as “submitted to Journal” till mid February.After that it changed to “Decision in Process”. The status has remained so till April. I have also written to the journal thrice but did not receive any reply from them. I am very confused about the status of my manuscript. There seems to be no option to retract the manuscript too. My mentor is not allowing me to contact the Ombudsman.
I have previously submitted manuscripts twice to Lancet journals but they Would make an editorial decision within 3 days.
Is the current case just a technical glitch or are they pondering over my manuscript? What are the chances of a positive response from the journal based on my case? Also how do I go about the situation?

Most recent answer

Rajmohan Seetharaman
King Edward Memorial Hospital
The manuscript was just desk rejected after lying on the desk for 3 months (with no response to emails). The active approach helped me to finally get a closure on the topic. Now I’m submitting the manuscript to other journals.

Popular answers (1)

Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo
North-West University
I advise you to just be patient and be at rest since the decision is still in progress on your manuscript, it might end up in your favor
8 Recommendations

All Answers (5)

Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo
North-West University
I advise you to just be patient and be at rest since the decision is still in progress on your manuscript, it might end up in your favor
8 Recommendations
Joseph C Lee
Queensland Health
That's a very prestigious journal to be "stuck" in and I agree with Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo that being optimistic is definitely a good thing! I would also advise to wait at this stage. Are you in a hurry to get it published? (Some trainees at my work need it - publication or acceptance - as a condition for fulfilling their training program.) Hopefully not your situation!
2 Recommendations
Rajmohan Seetharaman
King Edward Memorial Hospital
Oluwadara Pelumi Omotayo and Joseph C Lee Thankyou for your suggestions. I got some closure on the issue. After seeking opinions from various authors and reviewers, I resubmitted the manuscript to the journal since I suspected a technical issue with their editorial manager system (mentioning details about the previous submission in the cover letter). The journal responded immediately with a decision on the previous submission. The manuscript was just indeed stuck with the journal without any peer review or decision on the manuscript for more than 3 months.
Technical issues by journals is understandable but I hope that they work to make this process better.
Joseph C Lee
Queensland Health
So does this mean all you can do now is to wait? I am happy for you that it is a (relatively) good final outcome! I am glad you took a more active approach in the end…!
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1 Recommendation
Rajmohan Seetharaman
King Edward Memorial Hospital
The manuscript was just desk rejected after lying on the desk for 3 months (with no response to emails). The active approach helped me to finally get a closure on the topic. Now I’m submitting the manuscript to other journals.

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