better description of development process

README.rst

@@ -66,7 +66,20 @@ the commit hooks.
 
 .. code-block:: bash
 
-   $ pip install -r requirements-dev.txt
-   $ pre-commit install
+   poetry install --with=dev,test
+   pre-commit install
 
-Feature branches are merged into the `develop` branch. This branch is merged into the `main` branch whenever a new stable release is published.
+Feature branches are merged into the `develop` branch. 
+
+Publishing
+----------
+
+To publish a new release from ``develop``, create a new branch, increment the version number and push to github. For convenience, there is a ``create_release_branch.sh`` script that accomplishes the same, which takes one argument:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   create_release_branch.sh major # or minor, or patch, or specific version number
+
+Then, from the github website, the release can be published by clicking the "tags" button. Be sure to select the correct branch.
+
+When done, merge the release branch into ``develop`` and ``main``, and delete it.

create_release_branch.sh

@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+
+set -e
+
+if [ $# -eq 0 ]; then
+    echo "please write the type of release you would like to perform (major, minor, patch, or a specific version)"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+git fetch origin
+git checkout develop
+git pull origin develop
+
+poetry version $1
+version=$(poetry version --short)
+message="Portfolyo Release $version"
+
+git checkout -b $version
+
+git add pyproject.toml
+git commit -m "$message"
+git push origin $version