I wrote up a detailed sketch of three generations of an eighteenth century family from Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The progenitors had nine kids with only one birth record. I sourced it extensively, and submitted it to a certain reputable genealogical journal. Before undertaking the extensive formatting to meet their specifications, I contacted the journal to see if the article would be appropriate for them. The essentially said give it a shot.
I submitted the article formally on June 1. I haven't heard a thing -- no confirmation of its receipt or anything else. Two weeks later, I wrote a brief message requesting confirmation of the receipt of my manuscript. I sent the message directly to the editor-in-chief, who had responded personally to my initial inquiry. Still no response. Two weeks later, I sent another short message. Still nothing, so I begin to worry something happened to him. So after another two weeks, I sent an email to the "editors" email requesting receipt and re-providing my correct email address. Still nothing.
I don't have any expectation that the article will be published. But their own website says there should have been an acknowledgement during the first week after submission (not a direct quote). I want to get it published somewhere. If this journal rejects it, I already have a second and then a third in mind to try. But I cannot move on to the second journal -- the number one rule in submitting to journals is only submit to one journal at a time. If I resubmit to the second journal and then it comes out that the first journal had been considering the manuscript, I would probably be blacklisted by multiple journals.
I have published several articles in mathematics and science and have never encountered this before. Perhaps the process in genealogy is different? So this is a shout-out for some advice from the genealogy community. Thanks in advance.
Edit: If I do send a letter of withdrawal and approach the second journal, is it a good idea to be up front with them about the situation? That would provide even more cover, but on the other hand, nobody likes being told he/she was the second choice. And more importantly I worry that they might just say "hard pass" because of the uncertainty and the risk that they might it might turn into a headache for them.
