Harter was born in Keokuk, Iowa. Completing a BA at the University of Iowa in 1925, she moved to New York City where she shared an apartment for a time with Ruth Suckow. Primarily a typographer and book designer, she worked for publishers such as Cape and Smith, Smith and Haas, and Random House. Her first novel, Dr. Katherine Bell (Doubleday, 1950) is partially set in Iowa City. She gave a corrected typescript and a set of corrected galleys just after the novel was published.