The first step in getting a short story published is of course to write a publishable short story. Try reading well regarded short stories from master writers to get a sense of the appropriate scope and plot development of a short story. Plotting, grammar, spelling, and so on all need to be in good shape.

Try testing your short story with an audience. Have a friend, roommate, or family member read it and point out any inconsistencies, plot holes, or other weaknesses. Make sure they can follow what you were trying to accomplish with the plot.

If you think you have a good, publishable story, you need to decide where to publish it. There are thousands of websites and magazines that publish short stories. For a novice author, expect to publish in a non-paying magazine or website. If you want to make money by writing, you need to work your way toward the big publications.

If your story has the potential to be interesting to a niche audience, you can try to find a venue to get it published that appeals to that niche. Alternately, you could try to enter the story in a contest. If there are entry fees for the contest, do due diligence to make sure the contest is reputable and legitimate.

Compile a list of venues that might be suitable for your publication. Google has a fairly comprehensive list of publishing magazines, as does the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market. It is a good idea to read at least on issue of a publication to make sure you understand the style and that it is well suited as a publication for your story.

Prepare the packets for your submissions. Purchase manila envelopes for each publication to which you are submitting, as well as self addressed stamped envelopes for their responses. Write a unique cover letter to each publication that gives just a small amount of introduction to both you and the story.

Submit the story to the publications. You should send your story to 10-20 publications to give yourself a decent chance of being published. Often, publications will specify that you cannot simultaneously submit to other publications. This can be ignored. In the rare event that two venues accept the story, simply call and withdraw the story from both. If it was good enough for two to accept it, you will likely find a third venue to accept it.