Former book packager at Herter Studio and publishing director at Chronicle Books Caroline Ames Herter, 70, died at her home in Bar Harbor, ME on June 12. Herter’s publishing career began as one of the original booksellers at Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, and she went on to work in sales, marketing, and publishing roles at Harper & Row, Charles Scribner, Simon & Schuster, and Chronicle, where she was instrumental in developing the gift product line that redefined how non-book products were marketed and sold in the bookselling community and how book products were sold in the gift market.
Her friends write: “She was an original member of the women’s publishing group ‘never ever got Roots on’ which was one of the first ‘book clubs’ ever created. Caroline was a mentor and helped many young publishing professionals get established in their careers. She was a director at the Stanford University Publishing Institute and worked closely with that team to bring publishing talent into the program. She touched many lives and at times was more than determined to get her point across….
“Laughter was her medicine, books were her fuel, love was always in her heart – even when she was a challenge. Caroline was amazing as she overcame many obstacles, again and again – always challenging herself to ‘fail better.'”