Let the journal know upon submission that your manuscript is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. NIH suggests the following sample language: "This manuscript is the result of funding in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication, as defined by NIH."
Be aware of journal and publishers' policies prior to submitting a manuscript. Choose a journal and publication agreement that will allow you to meet requirements to deposit your accepted manuscript in PMC without embargo. Many journals, including those published by Sage, most AAAS journals, and no-fee or "diamond" open access journals, allow authors to do so free of cost. Others may ask authors to select a gold open access publishing route and pay article processing charges (APCs) in order to publish in the journal.
If APCs are required, these can be included in a grant budget. NIH states that "Reasonable costs associated with publication that are allowable costs of the project budget may be requested as direct or indirect costs."
