I'm happy with where my spec pilot script is sitting at the moment. Unfortunately, that means that I don't have a script do focus on. I've got the treatment more or less done. The series is supposed to be 13 episodes, with a season long arc. Would I be better polishing my treatment and pilot script while I send out query letters, or polish while I write the rest of the series? I'm honestly not sure what I'm supposed to bring if I actually get a positive response from a query letter, and I don't want to be left flapping.
Screenwriting : Order of Priority by Ray Sparkles Rupp
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It's nice to have an outline of the rest of the series, with an arc to pitch. But if that pilot episode doesn't grab them - and really, the first 20 pages of the pilot - they will not ask to read the rest of the series. I would definitely suggest focusing on the pilot episode and polishing that as much as possible, having it ready for when you receive replies to your query letter. When someone replies to the query it's best to get that script to them within 12 hours, and strike when the iron's hot. So definitely get that pilot ready, and good luck!
At this point I'm afraid of the Nickleback/Lavato Effect (Too much polishing erodes any voice or meaning to something).
Don't give up.
Polishing should never mean losing your voice. It just means making your voice clearer, in my opinion.
Good polishing most decidedly clarifies the voice. I call it the Lovato/Nickleback effect because unnecessary polishing can potentially muddle a voice. Look at the Demi Lavato version of 'Let it Go' compared to the movie version. The addition of the chorus in the beginning throws off the build of the song, but it also identifies the song for radio play. It's understandable polishing, but it throws off the structure to the point of injuring the voice of the song. Another example is Stranger than Fiction when the author decides not to kill Harold Crick. She altered the story because she didn't want to kill Harold, and it weakened the story. Overpolishing is something I'm somewhat concerned with because it always feels like there's something to be done, y'know?
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Ray, don't bother writing additional episodes. IF your pilot does sell AND it gets made AND it goes to series, the network will hire a showrunner and that showrunner will hire a writing staff and together (with you as the creator probably) will break down the entire season together. You might have some input, but the veteran showrunner will likely be making the calls. Your episodes will not get shot. The showrunner might take some ideas from what you have, but I've never heard of a baby writer, writing an entire season of a show, selling that show and then all of the episode scripts being used. You also don't need a treatment. That's really of more use as an outline and less as a synopsis, which is what I think you're looking to use it as. Once you have a completed script, you don't need to write a treatment. What you want is a pitch document. It's in that document you can do episode synopses for the entire first season if you want, to give readers an idea of how you see the show progressing. But definitely don't write more than the pilot unless you're doing so for fun or as an exercise. Good luck!
To me, polishing isn't changing the story. It's just making it more clear and exciting, making the dialogue better, settings more realistic, etc. I agree with everyone else. Continue polishing the draft until it's the best you can get it. Also, show it to some writers to get some notes. If you and your script readers feel there is no more work to be done, work on the next script. When you talk to agents and managers, they always ask for more than one sample.