I found Jodie Rhodes in Jeff Herman's guide (though her name doesn't have the -e in the title, but does throughout the rest of the article. Whoops!). Anyway, at first I thought she seemed enthusiastic...then I started getting a different vibe. Something seems a bit overwhelming and arrogant about her interview, which seems to fit in with what everyone else has to say. But, here's some info:
Represents 60% nonfiction, 25% YA/teen, 15% fiction. Number of titles sold last year: 45 Rejection rate: 99.5%
What was my red flag is that when talking about what pitching mistakes writers make, she put actual examples from query letters in the section to laugh at. Now, admittedly, they were pretty bad, but it just seemed very condescending and unsympathetic to writers who are trying to get published.
It DOES seem that if she loves your project, she'll fight for it hard (it's pretty clear she wants literary over commercial in fiction). She seems to have gotten some great deals for clients, like a $200,000 offer for a YA novel.
I'm definitely turned off by her personality, but if you're thicker-skinned and more willing to deal with diva agents to get your book sold, she seems legit and that shining $200 grand offer does look tempting to lustful eyes.
