Latest review
First review round: 38.1 weeks. Overall rating: 0 (very bad).
Outcome: Drawn back.
Motivation:
I am writing this review not because of the length of time it has taken to process my manuscript, but because of the complete lack of meaningful editorial communication throughout the review process.
I originally submitted the manuscript in July 2025 and did not receive a revise-and-resubmit decision until April 2026. During that nine-month period, multiple inquiries requesting a status update went unanswered. Because of the lack of communication, I ultimately withdrew the manuscript, assuming it was no longer being processed. I was genuinely surprised when the journal subsequently issued a revise-and-resubmit decision. Since the manuscript had not yet been submitted elsewhere, we made the unfortunate decision to revise and resubmit it.
Since resubmitting the revised manuscript, the communication has been no better. Multiple emails asking simple questions such as whether the manuscript is still under review, whether reviewers have been secured, or when a decision might reasonably be expected, have gone unanswered. Instead, I have repeatedly received the same generic response from a third party:
"Thank you very much for your email and please accept my most sincere apologies for the lack of updates on your paper. I have just taken a look at the status of your manuscript and I am pleased to tell you that it has successfully passed our Quality Check process. Your revised manuscript has now been sent back to the handling Editor for further consideration. Please be reassured that we are always in regular contact with the Editorial Board Member to ensure that your manuscript moves through the publishing process as swiftly as possible. Your patience while we do this will be greatly appreciated."
This identical message has been sent to me repeatedly over several months, without providing any substantive information or answering my questions.
Authors deserve honest status updates, even if the answer is simply that the journal is still seeking reviewers or awaiting an editor's decision.
Based on this experience, I cannot recommend this journal and will not submit another manuscript here in the future.
