Say what happened. Own it. State the fix. Stop.
An apology email for an ordinary, fixable mistake: the facts, your part, the repair with a date, and one change to prevent a repeat.
Weak apologies open with feelings, explain at length until they sound like excuses, and promise to do better without saying how. The reader is left with the problem and a paragraph about the sender.
Apology Email puts the facts first, names your part in one plain sentence, and states the fix with a date. Then an excuse check removes every but and every passive phrase. It also stops you when the matter could carry legal liability, because that is the moment to take advice before apologizing.
What it produces.
- →A two-sentence statement of what happened and its effect
- →A single ownership sentence with no blame shifted
- →The fix with a delivery date, and one prevention step
- →A 100 to 160 word draft with a clear subject line
- ✦Small business owners who missed a deadline or billed incorrectly
- ✦Managers who dropped a commitment to a colleague or client
- ✦Anyone who needs to apologize today and does not want it to sound defensive
This Playbook writes one straightforward apology. It does not include the Strategic Email Tool's three complete drafts pursuing different outcomes, its notes on when to use each, or its trade-off summary. Strategic Email is for high-stakes emails where the strategy itself is uncertain.
See the Strategic Email Tool ($49) →- →apology-email.zip: a native Claude Skill. Upload to Settings → Skills in Claude, or unzip to
~/.claude/skills/ - →apology-email-skill.md: plain markdown. Works in ChatGPT Custom GPTs, Gemini, Claude Projects, agent system prompts, anywhere
- →A README inside the zip with install steps for Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini
No subscription · free updates within v1.x
Works as a Claude Skill (.zip) and as a plain .md for ChatGPT, Gemini & every LLM
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Before you buy.
How is this different from just asking Claude directly?
Asked cold, Claude produces warm, sympathetic wording that often leans on softening phrases and generic regret. This Playbook uses a fixed order, facts, ownership, fix, prevention, and strips out explanation that reads as an excuse.
How is this different from a Tool?
Playbooks are systematically produced to a fixed template and priced accordingly ($12.99). Tools are hand-built, one at a time, and go deeper ($39 to $199). A Playbook gives you a reliable method for routine work; a Tool is for when the judgment matters more than the format. This Playbook writes one straightforward apology. It does not include the Strategic Email Tool's three complete drafts pursuing different outcomes, its notes on when to use each, or its trade-off summary. Strategic Email is for high-stakes emails where the strategy itself is uncertain.
Will this work with ChatGPT, Gemini, and other LLMs?
Yes. You get a native Claude Skill (.zip) that auto-invokes in Claude, plus a plain .md you can paste into a ChatGPT Custom GPT, a Gemini system prompt, or any LLM. The procedure travels with the file.
Can I share this with my team?
It's licensed for your own personal and professional use. The output it produces is yours to circulate. To put the Playbook itself in the hands of a whole team, email hello@authority.md about team licensing.
What if it doesn't work for me?
If the file hasn't been delivered, or arrives defective or empty, we refund in full: see our refund policy.