I got a provisional acceptance and submitted my clerical revisions almost two months ago. Email the editor?

Question

I got a revise and resubmit after a 4-month review in a decent Psychology journal, submitted a revision and, after another 4-month review, got a provisional acceptance with minor and clerical comments to be addressed, and was asked to submit my response within two weeks. I did response within two weeks, which is almost two months ago at this point.

Questions:

1. Should I email the editor through the submission website?

2. If so, what would be an appropriate way to frame the email? I had in mind something like:

   Dear ____,

   I am emailing to check on the status of my provisionally accepted manuscript (ID=xxx). Please let me know if there is any further information you need and thank you for your continued attention.

   Best, ____

Answer 1

The question hangs on the meaning of "provisional acceptance." If the reviewers suggested that no further review was required, then the editor should be able to make a decision fairly quickly once the changes have been made and submitted, so two months is probably too long for the subsequent review. However, there is the possibility that the editor sent the paper out for an additional round of reviews, in which case the delay is much more "explainable," but still bordering on too long.

In any case, a polite email to the editor asking about the status of the paper wouldn't be remiss. What you've written is fine.

Answer 2

What you suggest is fine. As a referee, I recently sat on a paper for too long. I had a pretty bad accident, and couldn't type (or concentrate, thanks to the oxycodone) for a couple months. I had informed the editor that I was going to be slow, but he didn't inform the author. Later, I got an e-mail from the editor asking for an estimated time. This e-mail was prompted by the author who had inquired. I don't think anyone was annoyed.

Probably the referee is supposed to check that you've corrected the minor typos and he means to get to it just any day now. Your e-mail to the editor will probably generate an e-mail to the referee which will get your paper moved to the top of the pile. And no one will be annoyed.

Edit: I'm in mathematics, so perhaps the culture in your field is different.