Slow Response from Journal: Should I withdraw a paper? I submitted a paper to an Elsevier journal in August and the status has been "with editor" ever since. I was concerned that it had not been sent for review for 4 months and I sent inquiries twice without getting any response. I am wondering if I should just withdraw my paper?
It's possible that the editor it was assigned to has left the journal.  Call them on the phone and then call another editor of that journal.  It's definitely odd for it to have fallen through the cracks like that.