So, How Do You Know When Your Comedy Script Is Ready?

You might have shared it with a few friends. You might have had lots of notes coming from different directions. And as a result, you might now be feeling a little bamboozled by it all.

At some point, it really helps to have an objective view from an industry professional — someone who knows exactly how it feels to have yet another script land on their desk.

Having spent over 30 years commissioning, producing and developing comedy, I now find myself on the other side of it all. And I have a real urge to give writers a safe space to perfect their script and pitch, and give their idea the greatest possible chance of success.

So, before you send your script out, here are a few things worth asking yourself.

Does the idea land quickly?

Don't make the reader work too hard to discover what your show is. Those first few pages matter. Do we understand the world, who we're following and why we want to keep reading?

Are you presenting the idea at its absolute best?

A good script can be let down by the way it's presented. Before you approach anyone, think about the logline, synopsis and pitch as carefully as the script itself. You don't want a great idea dismissed before anyone has properly engaged with it.

Have you paid attention to the detail?

Often it's the specificity that turns a good script into something irresistible. A distinctive character choice, an unexpected detail about the world, a line that could only belong in this show. Those details tell a reader they're in the hands of a writer who really knows their world.

And finally: have you had enough notes?

Sometimes another round of feedback from friends isn't what you need. Too many different opinions can take you further away from the thing you originally wanted to write.

That's where an objective industry perspective can really help — not to rewrite your script for you, but to help you see what's working, what isn't quite there yet and where the greatest opportunities lie.

Because ultimately, you want to send your script out feeling that you've given it its very best chance.