“It’s a pretty tumultuous time,” said Sarah Burnes, a literary agent with the Gernert Company. “It’s hard to get it right all the time, but I do think people understand now that these situations are more often about power, and not about sex.”

Some publishing houses have reacted swiftly to sexual misconduct charges. In October, Penguin Press quickly scrapped a forthcoming book on the 2016 election by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, co-authors of the best-selling political tell-alls “Game Change” and “Double Down,” after it emerged that Mr. Halperin had sexually harassed multiple women at ABC News, where he oversaw political coverage years ago. (Mr. Heilemann has said in a radio interview that he hopes to revive the project on his own.)

Other publishers have issued bland statements — or taken no action at all. Henry Holt & Company has continued to publish Bill O’Reilly following a New York Times report that Mr. O’Reilly settled claims by multiple women who accused him of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. Mr. O’Reilly was fired by Fox News, and last fall, his literary agent, William Morris Endeavor, said it would “no longer represent Bill O’Reilly for future deals.” But Holt has so far remained steadfast in its support of Mr. O’Reilly, whose best-selling “Killing” series has more than 17 million copies in circulation. Its fall 2018 catalog lists an untitled book by Mr. O’Reilly. “The corporate stance is that it’s not our job to judge our authors,” Stephen Rubin, the president and publisher of Holt, told The Times in a recent interview.

The disparate responses underscore the commercial and ethical challenges publishing houses face. Some, including Hachette Book Group, are expanding the use of morals clauses and “author conduct” clauses in book contracts, which allow publishers to cancel book deals if the author is credibly accused of unethical behavior. But some editors and publishers say privately that it’s difficult to impose a code of conduct on writers, who are not their employees.