how do I politely ask journal/reviewer to hurry up?

Every paper submitted to a good scientific journal goes through peer review. Manuscript submission is just the very beginning of what could be a lengthy process, at the end of which the manuscript may get rejected or accepted. Usually, the journal editor is the first to see your paper. The editor decides if the paper fits the journal’s scope. If it does, he/she will send it for peer review. Generally, there are four possible decisions on your work. It can be rejected, accepted, accepted with minor revisions, or accepted with major revisions. The time taken for the review varies from journal to journal. Usually journals revert within three months. If you have had no response from the journal within three months, you can request an update from the same on your paper’s status. You can follow the format given below:

Dear Editor,

I understand that you must be extremely busy, but I was wondering about the status of my manuscript [title, reference number] that I submitted on [date]. Have you heard back from the referees yet?

Thanks a lot for your time.

Best regards, [name]

It is not advisable to submit the manuscript to multiple journals till you receive any update on the manuscript being rejected from the previously submitted journal.

In case your manuscript is ready for submission, let us complete this tedious process on your behalf. Check through Enago’s Journal Submission service will help you in this above process. Good luck with your manuscript submission!