Play Publishing: How do I get my play or musical published?

Playwright Submission Guidelines for Eldridge Plays and Musicals

  • Please submit plays and musicals suitable for performance by community theatres and junior and senior high schools. We welcome shows on all subjects, however, shows with explicit adult content or graphically defined situations do not fit our market. For musicals, please include a CD of at least several songs and sample pages from the score.
  • Include a cover letter giving us a brief description of the story of the play, its running time, its performance history, and if it has earned any awards. In addition, we would like to know a little about your writing experience. 
  • Let us know if this is a simultaneous submission. 
  • Our standard royalty contract is 50% of royalties and 10% of copy sales. Playwrights are paid twice a year. Outright purchase contracts are limited to extremely short pieces (such as skits) and some religious plays.
  • We receive hundreds of manuscripts a year and want to give each careful attention and review.  That's why it takes us about 2 months to respond.  Please do not send more than one script or collection book at a time, as flooding us with your work will not be to your benefit. 
  • You may submit via e-mail or by snail-mail.

    E-MAIL:
    Using your cover letter as the message, attached your play as a Microsoft Word or PDF document and e-mail to this special address: NewWorks@histage.com.

    SNAIL MAIL:
    Susan Shore, New Plays Editor
    Eldridge Publishing Co. Inc.
    PO Box 14367 
    Tallahassee FL 32317

    (Please do not use certified or registered mail.  It actually takes longer to receive. Include a self-addressed, stamped postcard if you’d like verification of delivery. For our response, please include your e-mail address or a self-addressed, stamped envelope.)

Special Tips for Submitting

  • We like all kinds of plays and are always open to new ideas. Generally speaking, our customers like plays with more female than male roles or flexible casting in which roles can be played by either men or women.  This is not a hard-and-fast rule, however.
  • Don’t worry too much about formatting—just be sure to number your pages. Our editors are more concerned with content.
  • We strongly recommend having your script workshopped, read, or performed.  Scripts rewritten after this process are of a much higher caliber.
  • Include any reviews, production photos, or DVDs, if available.

17 distinct advantages to publishing a play or musical with Eldridge

  1. You are given a proof copy of your work to approve before publication. We encourage you to add dedications and first performances and original cast lists. Any awards or compliments from reviews are also included.
  2. Full-color art is specially designed to help advertise your show. A black and white version of the art is designed into your script cover.
  3. Eldridge applies and pays for copyright in your name.
  4. You receive a dozen complimentary copies upon publication.
  5. Your biography, photo (optional), and brief interview about your new work is posted on our web to let customers get to know you.
  6. Promotional packages of your new play or musical are sent to six directors or theatres of your choice.
  7. Your work is highlighted as “New” through color and special placements in our catalogs and on our website for a full year. 
  8. One new full-length play or musical is selected each month to be featured in our web spotlight and in our monthly e-newsletter.
  9. Our catalog is mailed to some 30,000+ U.S. junior and senior high schools and thousands of community theatres across the country twice a year.
  10. We advertise your work in package flyers; ads in such publications as “AACT Spotlight,” “Teaching Theatre,” and “Stage Directions,” and in a wide assortment of conference ads and programs.
  11. Royalties are paid promptly twice a year, in January and July, not just annually. 
  12. Online production buttons list group names, locations and upcoming dates, so if you find your show while web-surfing, you can verify performances are licensed. Performance locations also allow you to attend a show if nearby.
  13. We encourage customers to comment on your show and submit high-quality production photos, all to help increase your show’s visibility.
  14. Eldridge follow-up programs done in-house allow you to feel confident every effort is being made to protect your work from unlawful copying or unlicensed performances.
  15. Select plays and musicals are also translated and sold in Europe through a publisher in the Netherlands. 
  16. Editors will keep you in mind for new play ideas they’d like to see developed.
  17. Eldridge editors handle any other details with your best interests always in mind: to give you time to do the work you do best—write plays!

Eldridge Plays and Musicals