THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 18, 1994 TAG: 9406180192
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940618 LENGTH: MANTEO
The home had been a quiet refuge for the couple.
{REST} Today, computers and fax machines buzz from what had been the bedrooms. Employees, 13 in all, are packed into the 1,600-square-foot building and squeeze by one another and the tractor-trailer loads of books that fill the kitchen and hallways.
The couple's fledgling publishing business has sold more than 300,000 slick travel guides in airports, hotels and retail outlets around the country.
And now the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain has signed an option to buy a portion of the growing company.
``We discovered Insiders' Guides when our paper in Lexington agreed to put out a travel book with them last year in a joint venture project,'' said Knight-Ridder's senior vice president for operations, W.H. ``Gus'' Harwell Jr., from his Miami office. ``In October, we loaned them some money which we plan to convert to equity as part of the business if all goes well. It's a quality, usable publication that we're happy to have our papers put their names on.
``And it gives us the opportunity to bring in new revenue in an entirely new niche market.''
So far, Knight-Ridder newspapers have agreed to co-sponsor guides in 12 mid-sized cities including Charlotte, Lexington and Miami.
It all started, McOwen said Thursday from his office in what once was the master bedroom, when ``we took a small market that no one else had looked at and set up joint ventures with newspapers all over the U.S. They contract the writers and provide the local marketing. We design the format, do the editing and layout and about everything else.
``Together, we're filling a need in the guide book business.''
Called ``The Insiders' Guide to . . . ,'' the 500-page glossy books come in 17 titles. Outer Banks and Chesapeake Bay editions were re-released this month.
By the end of this year, 40 versions will be in print - including the first guide to Miami written in Spanish.
The full-color publications differ from others of their genre in content as well as corporate management style. About 20 percent of the pages are paid ads. Photos, oral histories and poems are interspersed with the expected maps and tourist attraction lists. And the writing style is narrative and conversational - as if a native is telling a newcomer about the town.
``A great thing to do on a calm summer day is to sit in the backwash at the sound and try to catch minnows,'' a Manteo Middle School student tells visitors on page 156 of the Outer Banks version.
``I think they're wonderful. I'm a big fan of Insiders' Guides,'' said Diana Wells, owner of Traveller's Bookstore on 52nd Street in New York City. ``They're one of the few guides that provides detailed, specialized information about an individual area.
``They're the best-selling guides to the South that I have in my store.''
McOwen and Storie did not start the Insiders' Guides. But they have brought the business to life.
When they paid writer David Poyer $4,000 for the single Outer Banks title and stock in 1982, the 3-year-old publication contained about 200 pages and sold for $4.95. Now, the twice-as-thick books sell for $12.95 each. Marketing reps in 17 cities handle distribution. A national advertising director will come aboard next month.
``We want to have 125 different guide books on the market by 1998,'' McOwen said. ``And we're updating our editions every year.'' Insiders' Guides Inc. would seem to be growing beyond the shores of this tiny North Carolina barrier island.
The Outer Banks, after all, is home to only a handful of companies with national markets.
But McOwen and Storie insist they want to stay in Manteo - where they've lived, worked and written their first travel guide.
``We're not planning on going anywhere,'' said Storie, whose new home is within walking distance of her office.
``The Outer Banks book was what started this whole company. This is where we want to stay. This area has given us so much. The least we can do is keep our business based here.''
by CNB