Angewandte Chemie 'With Editor': What the Wiley-VCH Screen Means

Angewandte Chemie operates the Wiley-VCH professional-editor model, and the "With Editor" stage is where that model does its heaviest work. An Angewandte handling editor is a professional editor at Wiley-VCH, supplemented by an international editorial advisory board; the handling editor reads the entire paper and evaluates chemistry significance, novelty over the existing literature, and Angewandte family routing (Communication vs Research Article vs Review) before deciding whether any referee is invited. A handling editor at Angewandte typically handles 80 to 150 manuscripts per year and spends 30 to 90 minutes on the initial read. Cover-letter novelty framing is decisive at this screen: roughly 35 percent of desk rejections involve manuscripts where the cover letter describes the work in general terms without naming what is genuinely new relative to the literature.

Angewandte Chemie editorial culture is decisive at the screen: roughly 50 to 60 percent of submissions are desk-rejected here within 5 to 14 days, and contributions not considered suitable are returned without external review. Papers that clear the Angewandte desk screen have passed the steepest filter in chemistry communications publishing, and the decision then shifts from "is this genuinely novel" to "is the chemistry correct," with referee review proceeding under a strict single-anonymous model.

"With Editor" is the stage where the 50-to-60-percent desk-reject decision is made, before any referee is involved. The Wiley-VCH handling editor evaluates whether the chemistry significance and novelty warrant Angewandte's selective slots, weighing the cover letter heavily because it is where authors name what is genuinely new. A desk rejection at this screen most often means the editor concluded the work lacks novelty over the existing literature, has insufficient chemistry significance, or would fit better at a sister Wiley chemistry journal (Chemistry - A European Journal, ChemPhysChem, ChemistrySelect). None of this is a referee judgment; it is the editor reading the cover letter, abstract, and first reaction scheme and asking what the prior art did not already solve.

Before the paper reaches the handling editor, the Angewandte editorial office confirms files are complete: manuscript with figures embedded, Wiley-VCH template (roughly 10 percent of submissions are uploaded in a generic format and require re-formatting before progress), Supporting Information with characterization data (NMR, mass spec, IR, crystallographic data with CIF files where applicable), cover letter directed to the editor naming genuine novelty, conflict-of-interest declarations, ethics documentation, and a data-availability statement. For chemical-biology manuscripts that lean on animal, clinical, or systematic-evidence data, the relevant reporting checklist should be complete and traceable: ARRIVE for animal-model work, CONSORT for any clinical trial, STROBE for observational datasets, and PRISMA for systematic reviews. These are not Angewandte-specific forms, but a referee notices when the study design calls for one and the disclosure is missing. A wrong template or missing characterization is a common reason a submission stalls before "With Editor."

This is the core of the "With Editor" stage. The Wiley-VCH handling editor reads the paper and evaluates chemistry significance, novelty over the existing literature (with particular attention to cover-letter novelty framing), and Angewandte family routing. The final decision to accept or reject rests with the editor. Clear cases resolve fast given the 5-to-14-day window: an obvious novelty or scope mismatch is returned quickly, and an obvious high-novelty Communication moves toward referee recruitment.

In parallel with the handling editor's primary read, ambiguous-fit papers are discussed across the Angewandte editorial team, where peer handling editors and senior editors weigh whether the paper fits Angewandte or a sister Wiley chemistry journal. This discussion runs alongside the screen and adds 2 to 5 days that are invisible in the portal. If your status sits at "With Editor" near the two-week mark, this discussion or referee recruitment is the most likely reason, not neglect.

Once the desk screen passes, the handling editor moves to recruit 2 to 3 referees, and that recruitment typically takes 7 to 14 days because referees with topic-matched chemistry subspecialty expertise are scarce under the strict single-anonymous model. The portal can keep reading "With Editor" during this window even though the screen is over, because ScholarOne does not always break out reviewer-recruitment as a distinct status. A status that lingers at "With Editor" past two weeks most often reflects this recruitment step rather than an unfinished screen.

The "With Editor" stage ends the moment the handling editor either returns the paper (desk reject), recommends a Wiley transfer, or moves it to referee recruitment. The portal label changing from "With Editor" to a referee or "Under Review" state is the single clearest signal that your paper cleared the desk screen and the editorial-screening phase is complete.

• Return within 1 to 5 days: Administrative issue, Wiley-VCH template format problem, or immediate scope mismatch.
• Return within 5 to 14 days: Standard handling-editor desk rejection per the 50-to-60-percent figure, often citing cover-letter novelty.
• Still With Editor at 2 to 3 weeks: Normal; usually editorial-team discussion or referee recruitment. Not a reject signal.
• Still With Editor past 6 weeks: A polite inquiry via the ScholarOne portal is appropriate; referee recruitment may have stalled.
• Status moves to Under Review: Screen passed. Your paper cleared the steepest filter in chemistry communications publishing.

This is the most common anxiety we hear from Angewandte Chemie authors during the editorial-screening window. The honest answer: no, 2 weeks past the 5-to-14-day desk-screen window usually means your paper cleared the fast desk-reject filter that drives most rejections. The most likely explanation is that the handling editor is completing internal editorial-team discussion about whether the paper fits Angewandte or a sister Wiley title, or recruiting topic-matched single-anonymous referees, neither of which the portal breaks out. That is a sign the editor sees novelty worth routing carefully, not a sign of a pending desk reject. Most "With Editor" delays at Angewandte come from referee-recruitment timing rather than from a slow editor, because the professional-editor model resolves clear novelty cases inside the first two weeks.

What you should NOT do during the first 6 weeks at "With Editor" is email the editorial office. Angewandte handling editors manage 80+ active papers per year; an inquiry mid-screen adds friction without accelerating the decision. If the status still reads "With Editor" past 6 weeks, a single polite one-line inquiry referencing the manuscript ID is reasonable.

• Do not email the editorial office during the first 6 weeks unless an urgent ethics issue surfaces.
• Do not submit the paper anywhere else while it is With Editor at Angewandte Chemie; Angewandte has explicit prohibitions on dual submission.
• Confirm the cover letter and abstract name what is genuinely new relative to the literature, since cover-letter novelty drives roughly 35 percent of desk rejections.
• Confirm Supporting Information characterization (NMR assignments, HRMS, IR, CIF crystallographic files, catalyst-stability controls) is complete and that the manuscript uses the Wiley-VCH template, since a generic template forces re-formatting.
• Prepare a Wiley or external fallback plan (Chemistry - A European Journal, ChemPhysChem, ChemistrySelect, JACS, Nature Chemistry) in case the editor recommends transfer at the screen.

If your Angewandte Chemie paper is returned at the "With Editor" screen rather than sent to referees, the cascade depends on what the handling editor cited:

Chemistry - A European Journal is the natural Wiley cascade for full Research Article chemistry papers where the Communication priority bar of Angewandte is not met but the rigor is high. Wiley supports manuscript transfer with any referee reports preserved (at the screen stage, transfer happens before reports exist, but the editorial assessment travels).

ChemPhysChem is the Wiley cascade for physical chemistry papers, and ChemistrySelect is the Wiley open-access cascade where the priority bar of Angewandte or Chemistry - A European Journal is not met.

JACS is the external ACS chemistry flagship cascade. JACS uses ACS Paragon Plus at acsparagonplus.acs.org; editorial contact jacs@acs.org.

Nature Chemistry is the external Springer Nature top-tier chemistry cascade. The Nature Chemistry Manuscript Tracking System at mts-nchem.nature.com handles submission. These journals operate independently from Wiley; assessments do not transfer.

The "With Editor" decision is not a referee evaluation; it is a desk screen against four criteria. The table maps each to what you can confirm while you wait.

In our pre-submission review work with Angewandte Chemie manuscripts, three named patterns generate the most consistent editorial-screen concerns and the most common reasons a paper is returned at the "With Editor" stage before any referee is invited. The practical question during the screen is whether the cover letter, abstract, first reaction scheme, main figures, Supporting Information, and characterization data already make the novelty claim auditable. Angewandte's public guidance explains the cover-letter-driven process; the Manusights layer is the manuscript-level pattern, what a waiting author can strengthen before the handling editor decides.

Angewandte novelty not visible outside the cover letter. In Angewandte Chemie manuscripts, the cover letter sometimes explains the chemical advance while the abstract, first reaction scheme, and conclusion do not make that advance independently visible. A manuscript can pass the admin screen but stall at the handling-editor read because the editor cannot see the novelty in the manuscript itself, or it passes the desk and then meets referee resistance. During the "With Editor" wait, check whether the novelty claim is repeated in the abstract, anchored to the main reaction scheme or material system, and supported by references showing why the prior art did not already solve the same problem. If the cover letter is the only place where the advance is sharp, the screen package is fragile because the editor weighs cover-letter novelty heavily but also wants it visible in the paper.

Check whether your Angewandte novelty is visible in the manuscript→

Angewandte characterization strength uneven across the evidence package. In Angewandte Chemie manuscripts, referees rarely object to one missing spectrum in isolation; they object when the characterization logic is uneven, with strong NMR for one compound family, weaker mass spectrometry for the key intermediate, thin control experiments for the catalytic claim, or Supporting Information that does not let another lab reconstruct the central result. If the paper is With Editor, build a map from each main-text claim to the exact Supporting-Information page, figure, table, spectrum, CIF file, control experiment, or yield calculation that supports it, so the evidence is complete the moment a referee asks.

Check whether your Angewandte characterization package is review-ready→

Angewandte format, scope, and Wiley transfer logic pulling in different directions. In Angewandte Chemie manuscripts, some papers are formatted like ordinary full articles but argued like high-priority Communications, creating slow screens because the editor has to decide whether the manuscript is a compact chemistry advance, a deeper mechanistic paper, or a broader methods contribution. The strongest packages make the figure order, Supporting Information, experimental section, and conclusion support the same identity. Before the screen ends, also map which Wiley or external title would be cleaner if the editor recommends transfer, since a rigorous paper with novelty below the Angewandte Communication bar often cascades to Chemistry - A European Journal, ChemPhysChem, ChemistrySelect, JACS, or Nature Chemistry.

Check whether your Angewandte format and cascade plan are screen-ready→

This guide tells you what Angewandte Chemie editors look for while the manuscript is being screened. The review tells you whether YOUR paper passes that desk screen before the decision arrives. We have reviewed manuscripts targeting Angewandte Chemie and peer chemistry venues; the named patterns above are the same ones handling editors flag during the desk screen. 60-day money-back guarantee. We do not train AI on your manuscript and delete it within 24 hours.

This page helps Angewandte Chemie authors turn a static With Editor label into a concrete screening-window plan: check the cover-letter novelty, abstract framing, Supporting Information characterization, CIF traceability, Wiley-VCH template compliance, and likely Wiley fallback before the handling editor finishes the screen.

Of the 171 manuscripts our team reviewed for this Angewandte Chemie status-page pattern sample, the strongest screening-window signal was whether the cover letter, abstract, and Supporting Information made the novelty claim and characterization completeness testable before the handling editor had to reconstruct them from the supplementary files.

This page was created from Wiley-VCH's public Angewandte Chemie notice to authors at onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/15213773/homepage, Angewandte Chemie reviewer guidelines (strict single-anonymous peer review, VIP designation requires a "very important" rating from at least 2 referees, cover-letter novelty critical to desk-screen pass, Wiley-VCH template requirement, contributions not suitable returned without external review), ScholarOne status-label documentation (literal "With Editor" status), SciRev community-reported transit data on Angewandte Chemie, a live review of public search results for "angewandte chemie with editor" queries in June 2026 (where the ranking results were generic cross-journal "with editor" explainers from author-services sites rather than Angewandte-specific cover-letter-novelty screen timing), and Manusights pre-submission review experience with Angewandte-targeted manuscripts.

Source limitation: Wiley-VCH and Angewandte Chemie are the authorities for live portal labels, editor assignment, and active manuscript status, but they do not expose handling-editor notes or why a particular ScholarOne state persists. In practical author terms, the useful task during the "With Editor" wait is to connect the screen to cover-letter novelty, abstract framing, characterization completeness, and Wiley transfer planning you can prepare before the handling editor decides.

For the Wiley chemistry landscape beyond Angewandte Chemie, see Chemistry - A European Journal (Wiley Research Articles cascade), ChemPhysChem (physical chemistry specialty), ChemistrySelect (Wiley open-access cascade), and external chemistry alternatives (JACS, Nature Chemistry, Nature Chemical Biology). Once your paper clears the "With Editor" screen, the next status is referee recruitment and active review; the Angewandte Chemie Under Review guide covers what happens once 2 to 3 referees are invited under the strict single-anonymous model.

Editors screen and triage manuscripts before any referee sees them, and the "With Editor" stage is where that triage happens. Preparing a response template that addresses both chemistry-novelty and characterization-data perspectives accelerates revision rounds substantially once the screen passes, given the 4-to-8-week first-round distribution that follows.

For a pre-upload check of your manuscript against the Angewandte chemistry-Communications-plus-novelty bar before the editorial screen, our Angewandte Chemie pre-submission diagnostic flags the cover-letter framing and characterization weaknesses most likely to stall a paper at "With Editor."