First, writing short stories is probably harder than writing a novel. So if you think you can knock out a couple in order to boost your profile... well, it's not that easy, sadly. And you've also got to sell them. While there are plenty of magazines, print and on-line - check out
Ralan and
Spicy Green Iguana - they all receive huge numbers of submissions. It's a difficult market to break into, and requires perseverance as much as talent. In that respect, it's excellent training for novel-writing...