There is an idea, a perception, which indies seem to hold which in my opinion really needs to change...

There is an idea, a perception, which indies seem to hold which in my opinion really needs to change. 

This came up during the hangout with +Evo Terra 

'All the money should flow towards the author'. This is something I've heard many times and anyone who dares to ask money from an author in return for a service is jumped on as a scam, a predator, a vanity press. 

 If you want to produce the best quality book you can, then you are going to have to pay some other people to have a part in that process. You cannot edit that book for yourself, you need a professional editor. You really need a professional cover artist as well, there are other options such as formatting and marketing which aren't truly essential but they will help.

There are plenty of scams out there. There are also those genuine vanity presses, but that does not mean that every person who expects to take a fee rather than some percentage of your profit is the devil out to take your hard earned money. The chances are that they are someone who is also working hard to bring in some money. 

Of course, if you're truly adamant about not handing over any money to anyone else, you can try the traditional route...