I think maybe a better title would be 'Lesson learned: Don't start work until a contract is signed.'

I fully understand that the potential for delaying or losing the contract completely could be part of the motivation for starting work in advance or in parallel to a contract. But, it seems that in this case, was the headache worth it?

Regardless, I do agree that it sounds like Apress should have treated the author with more respect. I'd love to hear the other side of this story as well.