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I have recently submitted an article to a tylor & francis journal which uses ScholarOne.

My co-author submitted the article 22 days ago, and since then, the status has remained as "Awaiting Editorial Office Process".

Is it alright that it hasn't been changed for so long? Should I contact the editor?

How long does the process take normally?

NOTE: thank you for suggesting this page "What does the typical workflow of a journal look like?", I have read this topic. Unfortunately in this paper the average time for "Awaiting Editorial Office Process" was considered to be "A FEW WORK DAYS". My problem is I have waited for 22 days. If anyone have had the same experience, I would really appreciated answering me. Thank You.

aeismail
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Maryam
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  • I've waited far longer. – user2768 Aug 29 '18 at 15:15
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    22 days? Start submitting to some obscure field of mathematics and it could easily take a couple of years. – mathreadler Aug 29 '18 at 18:31
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    I think the above comments may have misread slightly - the OP is talking about the gap between submission and being sent to handling editors or referees, not the time taken to hear a final decision – Yemon Choi Aug 29 '18 at 18:46
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    Unfortunately in this paper the average time for "Awaiting Editorial Office Process" was considered to be "A FEW WORK DAYS". So there's your answer. You've been waiting unusually long, and should contact the editorial office. – henning Aug 30 '18 at 09:13
  • @Maryam: Shouting in capital letters is not a good way to communicate with other users. The reason why they marked it as a duplicate is because most such questions have their “root answer” there. What you’re basically asking is “is my case abnormal?” And the answer you see from that page is yes, it is? For future readers, they’ll want to do the same. So that’s why it’s been marked duplicate. If users want to nominate it for reopening, they can. – aeismail Aug 30 '18 at 15:33
  • @aeismail it's not shouting, I'm showing emphasize. Sorry, but no, that's not my question. I'm asking for other experiences and what others might have done in this kind of situation. – Maryam Aug 30 '18 at 18:23

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Yes, you should. 22 days before the paper is passed on to an editor is out of the ordinary. It's true that it's summer and people might be on holiday, but this is the publisher we're talking about - even if some of them are on holiday, they should have people to cover. Journals don't close shop when the staff are on holiday.

I would contact the publisher. If you know the desk editor's email address that would be the best person to write to; if not, you can use Taylor & Francis's author services contact form.

Allure
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It's summer, and people are using their time for vacations, conference travels and research visits. Your editor may be climbing mount Everest or crossing Atlantic as we speak. A delay of ~1 month is not unusual in my area (mathematics) after the referee reports are secured. Bear in mind that the reports may contradict each other and your Editor may need more time to read your paper carefully themselves.

Waiting for the outcome is not easy, but at this stage I think that's the best decision.

Dmitry Savostyanov
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  • I guess that's right; But I suppose the holidays are just for one week, not 22 days!! – Maryam Aug 29 '18 at 18:21
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    Dmitry, it sounds like @Maryam is not waiting for referee reports; instead, the paper was submitted 3-4 weeks ago, and the online system is showing "awaiting editorial process" rather than "with referees". My suspicion is that the editor has asked for referees and they are being slow to respond, or the first choice has declined, etc – Yemon Choi Aug 29 '18 at 18:45
  • @Maryam Keep in mind not everyone is taking their vacation during the same week ... (not that "the holidays" are really just one week) so many slow downs are to be expected. – Azor Ahai -him- Aug 29 '18 at 19:15
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    Thanks, to make it clear I'm waiting for EO to send the paper to editor! and not referees!! – Maryam Aug 30 '18 at 05:45