Carpenter worked in literary publishing for ten years. She was a founding editor of Francis Ford Coppola's literary magazine, Zoetrope, and worked on John F. Kennedy Jr.'s George magazine. From 2004 to 2005, Carpenter was the deputy publisher of The Paris Review. During this time Carpenter supervised the "day-to-day financial health" of the magazine, and worked under the magazine's publisher, Drue Heinz. Carpenter was also the managing editor of Lipper/Atlas publishers, and was the founding editor for the Penguin Lives series.

As of 2013, Carpenter was employed at the New York Public Library. She founded the Young Lions, which is a group for young adults in New York who want to contribute to the library. Since 1999, the group has raised $5 million for the library.

Carpenter is on the board of directors for the Art Production Fund. The non-profit organization is dedicated to "commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art."

In addition to authoring three novels, she is also the co-writer of the film Mile 22 which was directed by Peter Berg.