Not so acceptable, being next to good novelist (7)
I believe the answer is:
lessing
'novelist' is the definition.
(Doris Lessing)
'not so acceptable being next to good' is the wordplay.
'not so' becomes 'less' (I've seen this in another clue).
'acceptable' becomes 'in' (as opposed to out, unacceptable).
'being next to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'good' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'less'+'in'+'g'='LESSING'
(Other definitions for lessing that I've seen before include "Doris -, British author" , "source of drama" , "Writer" , "Doris - - , novelist" .)