Every autumn, as Broadway gathers steam, another slate of 30 new musicals is introduced with considerably less fanfare. From Sept. 26 to Oct. 16, the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF) will offer a peek at original shows, some of which will go on to fame, awards and Broadway—as did "title of show" in 2008 and "Next to Normal" in 2009—and some of which you'll never hear from again.

Composer Rob Baumgartner, Jr., actor Jamie LaVerdiere and bookwriter-lyricist Carl Kissin prepare their show 'Date of a Lifetime' for the upcoming New York Musical Theatre Festival. Billy Bustamente

The musicals in the 2011 edition of the NYMF, which is now in its eighth year, may or may not have a future, but the 12 presented in the festival's Next Link Project—a juried program that offers an intensive professional incubation period—will at least have been given a thorough polishing. Each year, about 400 teams apply directly to the Next Link program and are evaluated by a committee of up to 30 industry experts. "Every script gets read by four different people," said the festival's executive director and producer, Isaac Hurwitz. "A lot of the shows that get submitted have not been staged before."

After the list is whittled to a dozen, the teams for the selected shows are assigned a professional dramaturge, given introductions to directors or producers, guidance on how to self-produce—and subsidies for production costs. "It is a labor- and resource-intensive art form," Mr. Hurwitz said. "The goal is to make sure that there is an opportunity for unknowns."

So who are the people pouring their lives into new, commercially viable musicals? Three writers with shows in the Next Link program recently met up at NYMF's Times Square offices to share their experiences. Their productions will all be staged at the Upper West Side's McGinn/Cazale Theatre. But that's about all they have in common.

Meet the Writers

Comedian Carl Kissin, 52, wrote the book and lyrics for "Date of a Lifetime," which originated as a three-minute monologue by a guy envisioning his entire life with a woman he's just met on a speed date. It's a one-man, 75-minute show that can be performed with just a piano or a band.

Romance is also at the center of "Jack Perry Is Alive (and Dating)," which was co-written by Daniella Shoshan, 27 a recent Columbia MFA graduate. The musical follows a day in the life of a 30-something New Yorker who's looking for love online and around the city.

Graphic designer and music teacher Perry Liu, 51, co-wrote the book, music and lyrics to "Outlaws: The Ballad of Billy the Kid," a rock musical about the notorious bandit's gang. It was gaining momentum before the creators decided to shelve it in the aftermath of 9/11. "Everything stopped," Mr. Liu said.

Where They're At

Despite Mr. Liu's hesitance to pursue the project, his writing partner, Alastair William King, continued submitting "Outlaws" to festivals, and Next Link accepted it. With their dramaturge, the pair has overhauled the show. "We had a full script, and we probably did a 30% rewrite on what we had before rehearsal," he said. "We're doing about 20% in rehearsal. So we've rewritten about half the show."

Ms. Shoshan and her team had started with a shorter version of "Jack Perry" for Ars Nova's ANT Fest in 2009. What they needed was the impetus to expand the show from its truncated form. Because Next Link submissions must be complete shows, the team had a deadline to meet. In doing so, they've been able to fully realize what they wanted to create. "So often when you are relegated to the black-box theater circuit, you don't really feel you are being true to the vision of the piece," Ms. Shoshan said.

Mr. Kissin, an improv veteran, takes a more selective approach to developing "Date of a Liftetime" with outside help. "Sometimes it's difficult to hear that something is a problem in your script. It's like the seven stages of grief," he said. But he submitted to the process in exchange for greater exposure: "If you've been a performer and a writer for a while, your friends, family and fans have a variety of venues and shows that they have been invited to. Sometimes I'm doing a three-minute monologue where there are many other people performing. There is a vast difference between that and saying, 'I'm in an off-Broadway venue with a director and choreographer.' This is a full production."

Where They're Going

Though they're at different points in their careers, the three artists harbor a sense of controlled ambition. Ms. Shoshan was unwavering about putting original work onstage. "The only way to tell new stories that are relevant to our national narrative is to take chances. And I don't think chances are found in things that have already been made in another medium."

Mr. Lui took a business-like view of the industry: "It's an incredibly expensive investment. And the business end has said, 'OK, we need to say alive.' I wish people would take more risks. There's room for it all.'

And Mr. Kissin believes in the market, even if it ultimately doesn't believe in him: "If what I put on stage is excellent enough, it will get picked up. If it's not, then it won't. And so be it. Then I'm just an artist enjoying my navel—which is a lovely navel."