Where do I start?

You've posted stories online.

Congrats! You're a real published author! Self-publishing is a fully valid method of publication.

But to more seriously answer your question, which I think is, "I want to be published on a professional or semi-professional level," the answer is, write stuff. Write like you've been writing, but instead of posting those stories online, go to the Submission Grinder and take a look at what places are looking for works the length and genre of your stuff. You can also scan it for anthologies and see if any of the topics call to you. If you feel like you want to write novels instead of shorts, then get started. The very first place to start with getting published in any format is to have something worth publishing.

And read lots, too, once you've some inkling of what you want to write. You'll need to know your genre well. Plus, the more you read, the more you absorb.

Maggie Maxwell said:

The very first place to start with getting published in any format is to have something worth publishing.

Click to expand...

Ding ding ding!

This is of course the deceptively(?) simple step.

Begin by answering the following questions:

-What do I want to write: short story, poems, novels, plays? Something else? If novels, what age group and genre?

- When was the last time I read (answer to above)? What have I read that was published recently in the area in which I want to be published? If your answer is anything less recent than the past couple of weeks, begin here. Read everything you can.

- When was the last time I wrote a (answer to above)? If your answer is anything less recent than in the past couple of months, that's where I'd go next. Get your feet wet, begin to write what you want to eventually publish.

- What critique groups exist in my area? Look into joining one. Even if you have nothing to contribute the first few times you go, you'll learn so much by listening to people and reading their work.

Good luck!

I just wanted to say that everyone, without question, has offered great advice.

Follow the yellow brick road! : D