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I submitted a cover letter through the journal's website contact form (which has no option to upload a file) and recieved an email confirming receipt by the editor who stated their interest to read the manuscript and thanked us for the submission and that they will get in touch after four weeks. Next, My supervisor advised me to send the manuscript since the editor replied via email and so did I. Six weeks have passed and we haven't received the initial decision yet. Does this indicate rejection?

Nadya
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No it does not indicate rejection. It just indicates that they haven't made a decision yet. Assuming the editors are active, then the most probable reason is the reviewers didn't submit a review in time. Whether reviewers will submit reviews in time is not something they can predict when they said "four weeks".

There's nothing to do except wait.

Allure
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This seems like an unusual process for a journal. I hope it is a reputable one.

I don't think it would be a rejection with no notice. The more likely reasons are a miscommunication and the editor doesn't have the paper for some reason, or an inefficient review process.

You should have received some communication from them; at least a note that it has been received. And you should probably ask for a status update, just to make sure they have it and it is in process.

Journals estimating time are notoriously bad at it, you should note.

But, also see the canonical question here on such issues: What does the typical workflow of a journal look like? How should I interpret a particular submission status?. This situation seems to be outside the common practice, though.

Buffy
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  • Thank you very much for your answer. Yes, it is a reputable journal. I even sent an inquiry on the submission status and still no answer. – Nadya Jul 02 '22 at 11:16