Clarified feature freeze and alpha release steps in docs/internals/howto-release-django.txt.

docs/internals/howto-release-django.txt

@@ -340,11 +340,12 @@ Feature freeze tasks
    to improve flow or fix grammar (:commit:`example commit
    <435bdab93889dae01e71c79598edab10627cc1f9>`).
 
-#. Create a new stable branch from ``main``. For example, when feature freezing
+#. Create a new stable branch from ``main``. Be sure to fetch and update
-   Django 5.2:
+   ``upstream`` to latest. For example, when feature freezing Django 5.2:
 
    .. code-block:: shell
 
+    $ git fetch upstream
     $ git checkout -b stable/5.2.x upstream/main
     $ git push upstream -u stable/5.2.x:stable/5.2.x
 
@@ -355,9 +356,9 @@ Feature freeze tasks
    (:commit:`example commit <1eb62e5b622ef7fd6e0123d8bbf6662d893d5d08>`).
 
 #. Go to the `Add release page in the admin`__, create a ``Release`` object for
-   the *final* release, ensuring that the *Release date* field is blank, thus
+   the *final* release, ensuring that the *is active* field is unset, thus
    marking it as *unreleased*. For example, when creating ``stable/5.2.x``,
-   create ``5.2`` with the Release date field blank. If the release is part of
+   create ``5.2`` with the active field unset. If the release is part of
    an LTS branch, mark it so.
 
    __ https://www.djangoproject.com/admin/releases/release/add/
@@ -370,14 +371,14 @@ Feature freeze tasks
 
 #. Add the new branch to `Read the Docs
    <https://readthedocs.org/projects/django/>`_. Since the automatically
-   generated version names ("stable-A.B.x") differ from the version names
+   generated version names ("stable-A.B.x") differ from the version names used
-   used in Read the Docs ("A.B.x"), `create a ticket
+   in Read the Docs ("A.B.x"), update the Read the Docs config for the version
-   <https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/issues/5537>`_ requesting
+   to point to the slug ``A.B.x`` and set it as active. `See more details
-   the new version.
+   <https://github.com/readthedocs/readthedocs.org/issues/12483>`__.
 
-#. `Request the new classifier on PyPI
+#. `Create a PR on PyPI proposing the new Trove classifier
-   <https://github.com/pypa/trove-classifiers/issues/29>`_. For example
+   <https://github.com/pypa/trove-classifiers/pulls?q=is%3Apr+django+trove+classifier>`_.
-   ``Framework :: Django :: 5.2``.
+   For example ``Framework :: Django :: 5.2``.
 
 #. Create a `roadmap page
    <https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/Version6.0Roadmap>`_ for the next
@@ -667,7 +668,20 @@ You're almost done! All that's left to do now is:
    ``VERSION = (4, 1, 2, 'alpha', 0)`` (:commit:`example commit
    <a4d19953d46247ee1992b3427fe652e941524272>`).
 
-#. If this was an alpha release, add the release in `Trac's versions list`_.
+#. If this was an alpha release:
+
+   #. Add the feature release version in `Trac's versions list
+      <https://code.djangoproject.com/admin/ticket/versions>`__.
+
+   #. Create a new security branch from the freshly cut stable branch. Be sure
+      to fetch and update ``upstream`` to latest. For example, after the 5.2
+      alpha release:
+
+      .. code-block:: shell
+
+        $ git fetch upstream
+        $ git checkout -b security/5.2.x upstream/stable/5.2.x
+        $ git push origin -u security/5.2.x:security/5.2.x
 
 #. If this was a final release:
 
@@ -717,8 +731,6 @@ You're almost done! All that's left to do now is:
    release in the `Django Forum - Internationalization category
    <https://forum.djangoproject.com/c/internals/i18n/14>`_.
 
-.. _Trac's versions list: https://code.djangoproject.com/admin/ticket/versions
-
 Notes on setting the VERSION tuple
 ==================================