Firstly, the help page for Mathoverflow does not forbid asking such a question. Secondly I found a similar question on Mathoverflow and thirdly as far as I know, waiting for two years for a referee report is unheard of outside mathematics. So, here I go:
I submitted a 25-page paper to a pretty good journal exactly two years ago. I say "pretty good" so it is not a journal like Inventions or Annals. In these two years I've contacted the journal's contact person as well as the designated editor, without any avail. The last thing they told me was that "Since the
start of 2014 we have sent it out to six new reviewers and are hopeful a
report will be received soon."
Let me make my questions precise:
Question 1: Does a journal have a responsibility to give a referee report to an author? Do I have any rights as an author?
Also because this is NOT the first time this happens to me:
Question 2: Is there any advice for not-waiting-two-years-for-a-report next time?
Best Answer
Two years without a report or decision is certainly too long. But this happens sometimes for various reasons.
The journals do not have to show you the referee's reports. At least some journals say that they don't have to. And that this is their policy. So a paper can be rejected (or accepted) without a referee report shown to the author.
If the reason of such delay is that the editor cannot find a referee, you may try to suggest him/her several possible referees. Sometimes the editors ask themselves. S/he may follow your suggestion or not, but try to suggest as many as you can, so that s/he has a choice.
I also recommend posting all your papers on arxiv. Besides many other advantages, you worry less about how long will it take to publish.