I am a high school history teacher. My vision is to take my passion and occupation to a higher level -- whether it be working for a university as a professor, writing books, or both. I would also love to create educational podcasts, documentaries, and other multimedia creations. I want to have the academic creds and background to be considered an authority.
I have two master's degrees, one in public administration and the other in teaching. Could these help me earn a phd quicker and easier than the traditional graduate student studying full time and doing GA/TA work? Could I continue teaching high school and earn a legitimate phd from an univeristy that would be completely respected and valid (no for proffit education or online only programs)? My hope is that all the statistics classes and other graduate level classes I've already completed between the two master's degrees would shorten my path to earning a phd.
Having said all this, how are phd's in history earned? Do you need to already be specialized in a field? Can I choose a topic/field I want to become an expert in? What do thesis/research papers look like for phd's in history?
I know these are broad questions, but any insight or direction that you can offer me will help me to get going in the right direction.
It is going to be difficult for you to earn a phd in history while continuing to teach, I think. As a PhD student you are expected to be fully committed to your study, will likely be teaching courses as a teaching assistant, perhaps working as a research assistant, depending on the funding options in the department where you end up. Being a phd student is a full time job and then some on its own. Your masters degrees MIGHT ease some of the requirements for your doctorate, but it is going to depend on the department and there is a good chance they will not have a significant impact on the length of the program.
You can certainly choose your field/area of study within history, and this is going to be directly tied two (at least) two things. 1) The department and university you end up going to and 2) the advisor you end up working with as a phd student.
Both of these are very important. Ideally, you will find a scholar with whom you would like to work and be in contact with him or her. You can apply for the program in the department where that person works, and then work with that person to come up with your dissertation topic, etc. You will also bring several other members of the department onto your committee who will help guide you and will ultimately be responsible for approving your dissertation at the end. Your advisor and committee matter A LOT.
The requirements of a PhD program are going to vary slightly depending on the department, but they are going to look something like this.
There are other requirements (like language requirements) that will depend on your field. Most departments require at least one foreign language. Competency can be shown via taking classes, passing tests, etc.
Most phd programs that I am aware of are ideally 5 years, but many people take longer.
Most programs will be happy to teach you what you need to know, so a ton of specialization is not required in advance. Programs are going to be much more interested in both your potential as an academic and evidence that you have the ability to actually finish a PhD. Writing is very important here, as are letters of reference. The masters will definitely help you in this regard, as you should have produced some quality writing and have good references from those programs.
/u/TenMinuteHistory already gave some good advice, so I'm going to give more critical advice instead.
First is that earning a doctorate and writing a book are two different goals, that you can pursue separately.
Second is that you need to do more homework in understanding how a PhD program works. Pick several departments where you may want to do a PhD, and look through the PhD degree requirements. These requirements should answer most of your questions.
In the US, a PhD is given for novel contributions to a field, so you have to have specialization. This does not mean that a PhD applicant should know exactly what his/her thesis topic would be, but you need a starting point. Remember that PhD admission to a good program is a competitive process, beyond a matter of meeting requirements.
As far as thesis/research papers look like, use your school's library and see if you can get access to JSTOR. Ask your librarian. Or, look through the personal webpages of academic historians/authors whom you like, and read through their papers. A lot of universities publish their graduates' theses online so you can browse through their collections.
Good luck!