Cheap Italian novelist with no means to be heard (8)
I believe the answer is:
economic
'cheap' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'with no means to be heard' is the wordplay.
'with' indicates putting letters inside.
'means' becomes 'comic' (comic is a kind of means).
'to' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'be heard' becomes 'e' (I've seen this in other clues).
'no' going within 'comic' is 'conomic'.
'conomic' put after 'e' is 'ECONOMIC'.
'italian novelist' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
(Other definitions for economic that I've seen before include "Comic one giving a good return for money laid out" , "Profit-making" , "Monetary; cost-effective" , "One comic (anag)" , "viable" .)