TRAVEL INSIDER : World of Advice Sold Through Newsletters : Publishing: Nearly 200 missives compete for the specialized interests of travel aficionados. Many are informative, but readers should beware of hidden biases.

Mark Eversman of Manhattan Beach felt “a junior midlife crisis” coming on a few years ago. But instead of buying a red sports car or getting a hairpiece, he quit his advertising job with Sports Illustrated, moved to Paris and, though he didn’t realize it at the time, began edging toward the ever-expanding field of travel newsletter publishing.

After three years in France, the 35-year-old Eversman returned to California and this year started publishing Paris Notes, a monthly missive on Parisian life and culture. His goal is 5,000 readers--but he’s testing his luck in a decidedly crowded marketplace.

While the economy at large reels under a recession, the travel newsletter business gains new competitors every month, giving special-interest readers a world of choices, probably more than ever before. In 1991, the editors of the Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters counted 140 U.S.-based newsletters concentrating on travel. This year, the figure jumped to 187, and included publications on subjects from freighter ships to villa rentals.

“There are probably more travel newsletters than there are any other category,” says Mike Kibler, director of membership for the Newsletter Publishers Assn. in Arlington, Va. “Travel seems to be a topic that’s ideal for a newsletter.”

Longevity is one characteristic travelers should look at when appraising travel newsletters. Readers should also look carefully at how a publication’s information is gathered. Many newsletters are part of government tourism bureau marketing efforts and are unlikely to include criticism even when it’s warranted. Other publishers accept complimentary service from the businesses they’re writing about, or rely on hotels and restaurants to accurately describe themselves, or place blind trust in reader recommendations. Those newsletters may still include valuable information, but travelers should keep possible built-in biases in mind.

I’ve pulled together information on eight newsletters (aside from Eversman’s fledgling effort) that have shown at least two years of staying power. There are many others of merit that I couldn’t include. The best place for a reader to browse the possibilities is the Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters, available in the reference sections of most large public libraries.

* La Belle France (P.O. Box 3485, Charlottesville, Va. 22903, 800-225-7825). Published since 1984. Monthly. Circulation: 8,000. Editor-publisher: Terence Y. Sieg. Associate publisher Carter Hoerr says the newsletter, which specializes in France, takes no advertising, accepts no underwritten trips, sends its correspondents out anonymously, and relies on a full-time staffer in Paris for about two-thirds of its content. Stories are shrewd and aimed at the upscale: One recent issue warned that construction next to one popular Paris hotel could cause sleepless mornings and cautions that service at another hostelry is “a bit on the snooty side.” Cost of a year’s subscription: $67.

* Consumer Reports Travel Letter (Subscription Director, Box 53629, Boulder, Colo. 80322-3629, 800-234-1970). Published since 1985. Monthly. Circulation: 75,000. Published by Consumers Union, a nonprofit organization founded in 1936; accepts no advertising or subsidized travel. Editor: Ed Perkins. The Consumer Reports letter may well be the most fact-packed of them all, if a bit dry. September’s issue included an update on senior airline fares, an assessment of hotel frequent-stay programs, a comparison of airport car-rental fees, and traveling tips for London, Florida and the Caribbean. A year’s subscription: $37.

* The Educated Traveler (P.O. Box 220822, Chantilly, Va. 22022, 800-648-5168 or 703-471-1063). Published since 1990. Ten issues yearly. Circulation: 1,000. Editor-publisher Ann H. Waigand aims for specialized travel, “focusing on a gargoyle at Notre Dame instead of the entire cathedral,” and pays particular attention to trips organized through museums and other nonprofits. No advertising. The Educated Traveler sometimes uses reports from travel industry professionals who have been subsidized, says Waigand, “but if it’s not good, we don’t write about it.” The June/July issue included a piece on a folksy trip to Ireland, a rundown on auction houses in London and New York, and a listing of jazz clubs in Berlin. Cost: $65 per year.

* Entree (P.O. Box 5148, Santa Barbara 93150, 805-969-5848) Published since 1981. Monthly. Circulation: 6,000. Publisher-editor William Tomicki writes about three-fourths of Entree’s copy, sometimes traveling anonymously and paying his way, sometimes as an establishment’s guest. “Even if I’m someone’s guest, I know a bad hotel when I see it,” he says, and the publication is sometimes highly critical. One recent review of a Los Angeles restaurant described spring rolls “hard as Scud missiles and wading in a pool of oil reminiscent of the Valdez spill.” A year’s subscription: $59.

* Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report (P.O. Box 50, Sun Valley, Ida. 83353). Published since 1979. Monthly. Circulation: 16,500. The editor-publisher uses the pseudonym Andrew Harper and travels without subsidies under his real name and a few others. Coverage focuses on luxurious locations. Some of the prose is on the purple side (“pastoral elegance . . . massive timbered beams . . .”), but there’s room for criticism. A summary of reader responses to one Santa Barbara hotel recently noted that “lodgings range from super to shabby, so be sure to demand a refurbished unit.” Adding to its air of exclusivity, the Hideaway Report has a self-imposed circulation ceiling--16,500 copies--and would-be subscribers often have to wait a month before an opening comes up. $90 per year.

* Passport (350 W. Hubbard St., Suite 440, Chicago, Ill. 60610, 800-542-6670). Published since 1965. In 1990, founder Moris T. Hoversten sold the publication to Chicago-based Remy Publishing Co. Monthly. Managing editor Mort Handler declines to disclose Passport’s circulation, but Conde Nast Traveler magazine has called it “the grandaddy of travel letters.” Handler says the publication’s contributors--some professional writers, some wealthy world travelers--do their reporting anonymously and without subsidies. Writing tends to be more informational than flowery. One recent issue warned of a burgeoning number of mediocre Italian restaurants in Vienna, listed seven top London hairdressers, and praised the Turkish city of Bodrum. Cost: $65 per year.

* Travel Smart (40 Beechdale Road, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. 10522, 914-693-8300). Published since 1976. Monthly. Circulation: 50,000. Editor-publisher Herbert J. Teison puts out 12 pithy pages monthly, detailing upcoming bargains, free publications, useful phone numbers, off-season travel options and the like. Contributors are often residents of areas described. Travel Smart does accept subsidized accommodations and meals; if he’s unsatisfied, says publisher Teison, he doesn’t write about the place. $37 per year for new subscribers.

* Yellow Brick Road (2445 Northcreek Lane, Fullerton 92631, 714-680-3326). Published since 1984. Monthly. Circulation: 1,000. Editor Bobbi Zane focuses on west-coast bed and breakfast operations, including reviews and updates on openings, special offerings and (especially in the last few years) the effects of earthquakes and fires. Zane’s August issue includes a laudatory piece on two B&Bs; offering murder mystery weekends, a glowing review of a San Diego County inn, and shorter informational items on half a dozen inns in California, Arizona, Oregon and Texas. Zane sometimes accepts complimentary stays. She does print negative reviews “if there’s a way of doing it constructively.” A year’s subscription: $39.

Back in the Manhattan Beach office of Paris Notes (which is also his residence), Mark Eversman confesses little experience in this crowded field, and acknowledges that most of his information now comes from a close friend and her family.

Still, he has built a circulation of 300. And he seems to have scored an exclusive of sorts in the September issue, in which he disclosed the phone number of a Parisian business that offers home condom delivery, day and night. The price: about $20. (Paris Notes can be reached at 1142 Manhattan Ave., Box 134G, Manhattan Beach 90266, 310-545-2735. A year’s subscription costs $29.95.)