Established novelist links up on air (8)
I believe the answer is:
orthodox
'established' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'novelist links up on air' is the wordplay.
'novelist' becomes 'ortho' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'links up' becomes 'docks' (I've seen this in another clue).
'on air' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue (how the word sounds on the radio, on air).
'docks' sounds like 'dox'.
'ortho'+'dox'='ORTHODOX'
(Other definitions for orthodox that I've seen before include "belonging to the Eastern Church" , "Adhering to what is commonly accepted" , "Holding conventional beliefs as in religion" , "Conforming to the accepted beliefs of a religion" , "Accepted, conventional" .)