Kari Barlow

Kari Barlow – Editor

I'm a former journalist and unapologetic grammar nerd, and I love working on education, general self-help, and lifestyle-related content.

Overview

My name is Kari, and I am a full-time freelance editor-writer based in Pensacola, Florida. I produce a wide range of content for numerous print and digital platforms. Since starting out in newspapers, I have focused my entire career on the art of crafting the written word. Simply put, I am at my professional best when helping individuals and organizations share their best messages.

For the past five years, I have worked as a frequent developmental book editor for My Writer’s Connection, helping to usher manuscripts through the editorial process. Earlier this year, I began editing and proofreading manuscripts for Igniting Souls Publishing Agency on a freelance basis. The book genres I have edited include general self-help, education, mental health, reference, biography/memoirs, children's fiction and technology.

I am a regular writer for PACE Communications/AAA Living Magazine as well as Rowland Publishing's Emerald Coast Magazine and various corporate client publications. I provide marketing writing for Success Partners and also cover news and features for the Alabama-West Florida United Methodist Conference. I have also worked as a personal editor for author and speaker Terri Sjodin on her most recent two books.

After graduating from the UNC-Chapel Hill with a journalism degree, I spent several years in newsrooms across North Carolina, Virginia and Florida editing, writing and learning to work fast under deadline. I'm a bit of a grammar nerd, proficient in Chicago Manual of Style, AP Style and comfortable adhering to internal style guides and using Microsoft Suite and Google Docs. My strengths are versatility, accuracy, attention to detail, the ability to meet deadlines, and a passion for good writing. Whether editing or collaborating on a ghostwriting project, I enjoy working as part of a team to reach a common goal.

In a working relationship, I am super responsive, often responding to emails, texts and other communication within minutes. I love to work with people who are kind, ethical, creative, and unafraid to laugh at themselves and the world around them. If this approach to editing and writing appeals to you, please get in touch!
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs Business & Management Computers & Internet Education & Reference Health & Wellbeing Self-Help & Self-Improvement
Languages
English (CAN) English (UK) English (US)

Work experience

Self-employed

Jan, 2004 — Present

• Developmental Book Editor, Igniting Souls Publishing Agency, January 2021-Present

• Writer, AAA Living Magazine, providing travel, tourism and lifestyle content, February 2018-Present

• Developmental Book Editor, My Writers’ Connection, College Station, Texas, March 2017-Present

• Writer, Rowland Publishing (Emerald Coast Magazine, 850 Business Magazine, Visit Panama City Beach, Sandestin Magazine), Tallahassee, Florida, December 2016-Present

• Writer, Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, June 2017-Present

• Editor, “Get Scrappy” by Terri Sjodin, published by Penguin Portfolio in August 2016

• Editor, “Small Message, Big Impact” by Terri Sjodin, published by Penguin Portfolio, August 2011

• Writer, Success Partners (Essential Oil Magazines, various custom magazines), Plano, Texas, January 2004-Present

Senior Reporter/Editor, Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, October 2009-Ocober 2016

• Covered county and city government beats and general assignment features

• Wrote six to 10 stories a week in a web-first newsroom

• Edited wide variety of daily and weekend copy for print and website

• Posted content to website regularly

• Posted to Twitter and Facebook daily, sharing news and cultivating sources

• Shot basic photography and video

• Served as the lead writer for “Okaloosa County Memories,” a 144-page hardback book on the history of Okaloosa County, Fla., published in November 2014, by the Northwest Florida Daily News

Portfolio

More Than a Fox

Cellars, Leah

Dogs on Heaven Street

Neuner, Steven J.

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