The fact that you’re part of the Play Submissions Helper community tells me that you already know how important the play submission process is.
That’s why the question of WHEN to submit your play is a big one–and can be a tricky one. There’s a balance that needs to be achieved here:
You don’t want to submit your play before it’s ready (significantly reducing your chances of success), but you also don’t want to put off submitting your play when it IS ready (wasting time and letting opportunities slip by).
Personally, I’ve made both mistakes before. So let me share with you what I’ve learned from experience.
First: when your play is finished, the urge to submit it sooner rather than later can be tempting. After all, you’ve worked so hard on this thing, and you really want to get it out in the world.
But this can be a big mistake. Trust me, you don’t want to submit your play to your dream theater only to realize that your play has a big flaw that you wish you had fixed first.
I’ve also been guilty of holding onto plays too long, tweaking them this way and that without actually making any significant improvements. For me, this felt frustrating because I began to get the sense that the play would never be quite good enough.
So what’s the answer here?
First: remember that time is your friend. I like to put a completed script in a drawer for a month while I work on something else. By the time I take it out and read it again, I can see the story much more objectively.
At this point, I dive in and begin revising in earnest.
Once I’ve worked on that script until it’s the best I can get it, I like to get it up on its feet. Even if it’s just a table read with some friends that I’ve bribed with food and drinks, hearing your play performed out loud can be incredibly helpful.
From that point on, I let the work guide me. If I can still spot things that need fixing, I’ll keep working on them. If I start to feel stuck, I’ll put it back in the drawer for a while. And if I think the play is working really well, and I can’t spot any flaws or room for improvement, I’ll begin sending it out to theaters.
I know it can be hard to set your work aside. But if you use the opportunity to work on something else, then I think you’ll find that you end up being a much more productive writer in the long run.
And of course, when you get to that point where your script really shines, go here to start browsing our list of opportunities: https://playsubmissionshelper.com/blog/