She is the co-host and co-producer of A Way with Words, a weekly, hour-long show about language broadcast nationally in the United States, and is the author of four books, three of them about etymology.
[4] They worked with Barnette on the book,[5] which was published in July 1987 as The Bill Schroeder Story: An Artificial Heart Patient's Historic Ordeal and the Amazing Family Effort that Supported Him.
A Chicago Tribune review described the idea of the book as a "good one" but felt the execution to be "a bit indulgent",[4] while the Courier-Journal described it as "straightforward but highly evocative".
Selecting Ladyfingers as one of the best non-fiction books of 1997, the Los Angeles Times described it as "a tour de force", and said that A Garden of Words had been a "fascinating study".
[10] To operate Wayword, Inc. successfully, Barnette studied for a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.