While I’m busy behind the scenes, I thought you might like to get a jump on prepping for the Spring Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival. The dates will be May 4-8. Below is a general outline of how things will flow, but I encourage you to read the complete Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival Guidelines so there are no surprises on May 4.

I’ll host a Mr. Linky starting at 8am CST on Monday, May 4. It’s true: sometimes I’m on time, sometimes I’m early. If I’m early it’s usually to test Mr. Linky. Since Mr. Linky is third-party software and not hosted by me, I have no control over whether it works. I like to test it out.

I’ll close that Mr. Linky at 5pm CST on May 8. Yes, you can post a giveaway on Friday, but just know that I’ll be closing that Mr. Linky at 5:00pm (and you’ll need to choose winners for all of your giveaways on Friday as well).

You can host one giveaway for the week, a giveaway each day, one giveaway in the middle of the week–whatever floats your boat. Just know that this carnival runs May 4-8. Your giveaways should start some time during the week of May 4 (not before). If you’re participating in the BGQC you should choose winners for all your giveaways on Friday, May 8 (and not later).

On Saturday, May 9, at 8am CST I’ll post a new Mr. Linky for you to link to a post where you announce your winners (yes, I’ll delete your link if you link to another giveaway). I will close this second Mr. Linky at 10pm CST on Sunday, May 10.

So to recap:

• Monday, May 4: 8am Mr. Linky goes live for giveaway permalinks.
• Friday, May 8: 5pm Mr. Linky is closed and y’all get to choose your winners! No more giveaways accepted.
• Saturday, May 9: 8am new Mr. Linky for winner post permalinks. (You still need to notify your winner[s] via e-mail, too!)
• Sunday, May 10: 10pm Mr. Linky is closed and the Spring Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival ends.

I’m not being strict on these dates and times to be a meany, I’m being strict on the dates and times because it’s a lot of work to run this carnival and I want it to be as fun as possible for everyone involved. If we’re all on the same page and working together, I’m pretty sure we’ll all find some great blogs, maybe win something cool, and definitely have fun!