Soliciting citations I have now several times experienced recieving mails after publishing a preprint, from authors asking me to cite their work before I submit it to a journal. In some cases it is probably fair, but in other cases a bit of a stretch. It is of course often people I know, and who could possibly be future colleagues, so I don't want to be too snarky.

I have never done it myself. I have, however, approaced authors to refer them to my own work, after a related article had been published in a journal.

Do you have a standard reply for such solicitations?

Do you engage in this practice yourself? I imagine that it could do wonders to your citation count.
I imagine that it could do wonders to your citation count


I honestly can't imagine that an unsolicited request to cite a paper actually generates enough citations to matter much.

I don't engage in this practice myself, and my response would be a cursory glance at the paper to see if it was essential (though the email should have articulated this) followed by either thanking the person for bringing it to my attention, or far more likely, simply deleting the email.