Note about merging directly to release branch.

Author: trexfeathers

docs/src/developers_guide/release.rst

@@ -88,6 +88,11 @@ New features shall not be included in a patch release, these are for bug fixes.
 A patch release does not require a release candidate, but the rest of the
 release process is to be followed.
 
+As mentioned in :ref:`release_branch`: branch/commit management is much simpler
+if the patch changes are **first merged into the release branch** -
+e.g. ``v1.9.x`` - and are only added to ``main`` during :ref:`merge_back` (post
+release).
+
 
 Before Release
 --------------
@@ -111,6 +116,8 @@ from the `latest CF standard names`_.
 The Release
 -----------
 
+.. _release_branch:
+
 Release Branch
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
@@ -193,6 +200,8 @@ of the new release. Ideally this would be updated before the release, but
 the DOI for the new version is only available once the release has been
 created in GitHub.
 
+.. _merge_back:
+
 Merge Back
 ~~~~~~~~~~