The Footnotes: What I Learned at the Self-Publishing Show Live 2026

In this episode of the footnotes, Helen ONeill shares her key takeaways from SPS Live 2026, the largest independent author conference in Europe. Here are some of the speakers whose sessions resonated most: Tom Donnelly on separating your creative and critical brain when you write Becca Syme on questioning the writing rules you've always been told to follow Becca Syme on the eight types of fans and what they mean for your coaching practice Oriana Leckert on how Kickstarter works and whether it could work for your book Ricardo Fayette and Sara Usara on using data, not guesswork, to drive your Amazon ad decisions Sasha Black on building an authorship business with talent, honesty, and grit Rachel McLean on burnout, simplicity, and deciding what enough actually looks like Subscribe to the Coach Write podcast wherever you're listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review. Your words can make a difference; a review can too. Connect with Helen: Coach Write Reflections newsletter: https://coachwrite.co.uk/reflections LinkedIn:   / oneillhelen   Instagram:   / coach_write   People and Resources Mentioned Tom Donnelly https://www.tddonnelly.com/ Becca Syme https://betterfasteracademy.com/ Kickstarter https://www.kickstarter.com/ Ricardo Fayet https://www.ricardofayet.com/ Sara Usera https://www.booksflyer.com/about Reedsy https://reedsy.com/ Sacha Black writing as Ruby Roe https://www.rubyroe.co.uk/ Rachel McLean https://rachelmclean.com/