Gary graduated in 1957 with a D- average. Gary Paulsen was very adventurous during his youth.  After graduation, he joined the army for 3 years. He did many jobs including, working at a Construction Company, a helping hand at the ranch, truck driver, and a sailor. 

Paulsen started working as an editor/proofreader in a publishing house.  He then moved to Minnesota and by the end of the summer he had completed his first book. In 1967 his first book SOME BIRDS DON’T FLY came out. Within only a few months he wrote and published his 2nd book. He wrote a great amount of his stories about true life experiences.

Paulsen wrote more than 175 books and also more than 200 articles.
His three novels Hatchet, Winter Room, and Dogsong are very famous with young people across the globe. Paulsen also won the Newberry honor book medal. Gary Paulsen and his wife Ruth Wright Paulsen currently reside in New Mexico. His wife is an artist who illustrated cover pages for some of Paulsen's novels.
Credits to
http://www.famousauthors.org/gary-paulsen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Paulsen
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/gary-paulsen
And last but not least, google for helping me find the websites above.

Hatched was published in 1987
Gary  paulsen wrote 175 books!!!!!!
for some odd reason, gary Paulsen likes to make his own clothes.
gary  Paulsen does not have a favroit author 

Paulsen has been married twice and has three adult children, Lance, Lynn and James Paulsen. Paulsen worked at construction while writing to support himself. It was not until the publication of his first award winning book, Dogsong, in 1985 that Paulsen began to experience success.One of his earliest published books was titled Some Birds Don't Fly.Gary Paulsen 74, a popular writer of young people around the world was born on 17th May 1939 in Minneapolis; Minnesota. Paulsen was a book lover from his childhood.