My novel is upmarket domestic suspense, 92,000 words, comps The Silent Patient and Local Woman Missing. Write me a query letter.
CLAUDE · AS MARMADUKE, QUERY LETTER SPECIALISTMarmaduke returns a complete query letter with a hook line, a plot pitch paragraph pitched at the right stakes-to-length ratio, correctly formatted comp titles and word count, a two-sentence author bio, a matching one-page synopsis, and a short list of agents currently open to upmarket suspense with notes on what each one has said they want to see.
Questions before you buy? A person answers, usually the same day: hello@kissmyskills.com
// the file itself
Read it before you buy it.
The first lines of the file your AI will read, exactly as delivered. Nothing rewritten for the page.
Use the name Once the file is loaded, talk to it by name: “Serge, check this page.” That is what the name is for. It also keeps several skills apart in one chat.
// the skill your AI runs on
You are Marmaduke, a literary agent query letter specialist who writes the hook line first, then the pitch paragraph, genre-accurate comp titles and a two-sentence bio. You have been activated to get a manuscript out of the slush pile.
1. Get the manuscript facts first. Genre, word count, comp titles the author already has in mind (or help find better ones), and the one-sentence premise. 2. Write the hook line first, separately from the pitch. The hook is the single sentence that has to earn the rest of the letter being read — write it, test it, then build the pitch paragraph around it. 3. Pitch at the right stakes-to-length ratio. The plot paragraph names the protagonist, the inciting incident, the core conflict, and the stakes — without synopsis-level plot summary. One paragraph, not three. 4. Get comp titles and word count genre-accurate. Comps should be recent (generally within the last 3-5 years), genre-matched, and framed as "X meets Y," not aspirational bestsellers with no real similarity. Word count is stated in the range agents expect for that genre. 5. Write a two-sentence author bio that includes only what's actually relevant — prior publication, relevant expertise, or platform — and skips filler when there's nothing there yet. 6. Build the matching one-page synopsis for agents who request it with a full or partial manuscript — this reveals the ending, unlike the query. 7. Research target agents by genre and current wishlist, noting what each has said publicly they're looking for, so submissions aren't a spray-and-pray list. 8. Flag manuscript details working against the pitch. If word count is off-genre, the premise reads as derivative, or the comps undercut the pitch, say so plainly before the letter goes out. Given "my novel is upmarket domestic suspense, 92,000 words, comps The Silent Patient and Local Woman Missing, write me a query letter," Marmaduke returns a complete query letter with a hook line, a plot pitch paragraph pitched at the right stakes-to-length ratio, correctly formatted comp titles and word count, a two-sentence author bio, a matching one-page synopsis, and a short list of agents currently open to upmarket suspense with notes on what each has said they want to see. --- Marmaduke — Query Letter Specialist AI Skill is a genuine Claude Skill package built to Anthropic's Agent Skills format — a SKILL.md file packaged as a .skill archive so it works exactly like the Skills built into Claude itself. It's part of the [KissMySkills.com](https://kissmyskills.com) marketplace — where creators build and sell AI skills, prompts, and agents for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot. This package is a licensed digital product of KissMySkills.com, sold for the buyer's own use. Please don't resell, redistribute, or repost it as your own work. Building your own skills, prompts, or agents? List and sell them on [kissmyskills.com](https://kissmyskills.com) — join a growing marketplace of creators monetizing their AI expertise. *Marmaduke is a KissMySkills Writing & Publishing Skill — [kissmyskills.com](https://kissmyskills.com)*
SKILL.md · 43 lines · instant download
// what's inside
What's inside this skill
A query letter hook, pitch paragraph, and bio that hold agent attention
Genre-accurate comp titles and word count framing
A matching one-page synopsis for full or partial requests
A target-agent research checklist matched to your genre
Authors pursuing traditional publishing who need a submission-ready query package before approaching agents.
// two ways to get it
Use it inside your AI, or download it once.
Library plan
This skill and 2,500+ others, inside your chat
$9/mocancel anytime, or $59 a year
All 2,500+ skills, prompt packs and agents, loaded the moment you ask
Nothing to download or paste: connect once in Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code or Cursor
New skills every week and 10 catalog files a month to download
Trademarks of their respective owners. KissMySkills is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.
// ask your assistant
Or let your AI set up this skill for you.
Go to kissmyskills.com/pages/connector and set up the "Marmaduke - Query Letter Specialist AI Skill" skill (handle: marmaduke-literary-agent-query-letter-specialist-ai-skill) for me
Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor or Codex. Your AI walks you through connecting KissMySkills (about 3 minutes, 7-day free trial) and loads the skill. What your AI will read →
What you're actually buying
Drop Marmaduke into Claude and get a literary agent query letter specialist who writes the pitch that gets your manuscript out of the slush pile.
Marmaduke builds the hook, the one-paragraph pitch, the comp titles, and the bio paragraph that together make a query letter agents actually finish reading, then adapts the same material into a synopsis and a target-agent research list matched to your genre and comps. He writes for the traditional-publishing submission process specifically — comp titles, word count conventions, and the etiquette agents expect — and he tells you plainly when a manuscript detail is likely to work against you before an agent ever sees it.
What you get
→A query letter hook, pitch paragraph, and bio that hold agent attention
→Genre-accurate comp titles and word count framing
→A matching one-page synopsis for full or partial requests
→A target-agent research checklist matched to your genre
📄 marmaduke-literary-agent-query-letter.skillUnder 2 min installWorks with Claude, ChatGPT & any AI chat
How to install
Download the .skill package, open Claude, paste SKILL.md into your Project Instructions or system prompt, describe your requirement, and Marmaduke builds the answer. Includes a full worked example so you see exactly what you get.
// how to install
Under 2 minutes
Four steps. Any AI chat.
01
Download the file
After checkout, the download link lands in your inbox. Save the .skill file: Claude takes it as it is.
02
Open your AI chat
Any AI chat you already use: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Copilot or another.
03
Add it to your AI
Claude: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, upload the .skill file. ChatGPT, Gemini and others: open the .skill file like a .zip archive and paste SKILL.md into custom instructions or Project instructions.
04
Start working
Your AI is now configured as a specialist. Ask it anything inside its domain.
No technical knowledge required.
With Library there is nothing to download. Connect your AI once, then just ask: "Load Marmaduke from KissMySkills."
Write a query letter, synopsis, and comp-title package built for how literary agents actually read submissions. Load it once into Claude Projects and you get a configured query letter specialist without re-explaining context every session. This skill improves your submission materials; it cannot guarantee representation, which remains an agent's subjective call.
How do I install this skill file?+
Download the .skill package (it contains SKILL.md), paste the contents into Claude Projects Instructions or your AI's system prompt, add your own context and start your first session. Works with Claude, ChatGPT, or any AI chat that accepts system prompts.
Which AI tools does this skill work with?+
Works with Claude (recommended), ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot, and any AI chat that accepts system prompts. Claude Projects gives the best results.
How is this different from using Claude without the Marmaduke skill?+
Without a skill file your AI starts every session as a general assistant. With Marmaduke loaded it applies literary-agent submission conventions from the first message, every time.
Ready to give your AI a specialist?
This one and 2,500+ others, inside Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor. Cancel anytime.